Glaringly Obvious
by Techliche
Summary: Bonnie's finally going to tell Damon how she feels about him, but his reaction is less than what she expected. And everyone knows you don't piss off a Bennett witch. Bamon x Steroline
1. Chapter 1: Freedom

Freedom

"Coming?" she asked over her shoulder with that flirtatious smirk that broke a thousand hearts. And with a flip of that long dark hair, she sashayed out of the room, pausing at the door to deliver a heart wrenching wink.

It landed. Her scent, her warmth, everything about this girl, this young woman, drove him wild. And he was powerless against her. Denying her anything was utterly out of the question. So, sadly and with much trepidation he followed her from the room.

Damon glanced to his left and right, checking to make sure the yard was empty before he stepped off the back porch. They were alone. Good. This was an unavoidable conversation and the vampire did not want to be overheard.

"So?" he drawled, "you were saying?"

"Was I?" Bonnie asked with a look of pretend confusion. "What was I saying, Damon?" Her hazel eyes traversed Damon's body, taking in everything. From those size eleven black motorcycle boots to the black jeans that hugged his muscled thighs in all the right ways. Her eyes took in the black button down shirt, open at the collar. They caught the movement of the hem as his shirt lifted in the gentle breeze of the warm night. Her eyes excitedly watched that strip of exposed abdomen, once again appreciating the jeans that rode dangerously low on those defined hips. She could scarcely tear her eyes away, but he was talking again- _had he always talked this much? Oh yeah, he had._

"You were saying you had information on the oracle. A location, perhaps?" he reminded her, trying with all his might to ignore the way she licked her lips with her eyes trained somewhere down by his belt. _What the hell is going on with her? Something's not right when I'm on the receiving end of the little witch's googly eyes…_ "Bonnie?" he raised his voice and her eyes snapped up to meet his.

"Sorry!" Bonnie giggled. "I-I guess I'm just a little distracted." She stepped shyly away from Damon and turned in a circle with her arms spread wide. She let her head fall back and she looked up at the starry sky. "Can you believe this night? I mean, it's amazing! Do you feel that?" she turned to look at the man across from her. "It's like… Damon, it's like the earth is singing for me. It's like nothing I've ever felt before, it's truly amazing."

Bonnie spun in circles, creating a breeze that lifted the edges of her skirt away from her legs. She spun until she was dizzy and then let herself drop to the ground, out of breath from the exhilaration of finally letting herself be free, be in the moment. Just be a 20 year old girl with an inappropriate crush on her best friend's 150-something year old vampire ex-boyfriend. It was ridiculous! She knew that crushing on Damon would lead to nothing good and yet in this moment she allowed herself the freedom to give in to it. To let it be. _I have a crush on Damon Salvatore!_ Just thinking it left her feeling like a stack of cement cinderblocks had been lifted from her belly. She felt so light and breathless, she feared she may float away.

Damon, for his part, took the whole scene in stride. He seemed to understand that Bonnie was going through some things. Like maybe a nervous breakdown. He had a feeling that this conversation was going to head in a direction he wasn't ready to go and so he counted to 10. And then he counted to 15 and then to 20 as he let Bonnie have her moment of delirium. But Damon, as always, was on a mission. He didn't have time for this little melt down or identity crisis or whatever was going on with his resident witch. He needed answers. So for 20 seconds he indulged Bonnie in her moment of fun and watched her spin like a 6 year old on a playground. He even enjoyed watching the witch enjoy herself, she obviously needed it. She spent so much time protecting this God forsaken town and the people who lived here that Damon had never seen her like this, loose, wild, and free, with her skirt flying around her showing off her gorgeous legs. Spontaneous and, almost, fun. She was unrecognizable. Where was the annoying, judgy, little witch that argued with him every day for 4 months in the prison world, ruining his fun at every turn? Not that he had minded as much as he put on…

After her 20 seconds were up, Damon walked over to stand above the ebony witch, gazing down at her curiously.

"Are we finished?" he asked, "I've got a crystal ball to steal, witchy."

She just grinned up at him and laughed, her toned, strong arms reaching out to him.

"Come on, Damon. Sit with me."

And with a deep breath, a gusty sigh, and huge eye roll, Damon lowered himself to the ground.

"Happy?"

"Extremely," she giggled.

"Okay, Bon-Bon, what the hell is this? What did that channeling spell do to you? We don't have time for you be taking some weird trip to the land of flower power or whatever, so you have to snap out of it, now, okay? Stefan is waiting on us, and if we don't tell him where this so-called oracle is who knows what that psycho vamp will do to Blondie and then- "

"Stop," Bonnie sat up and put a gentle hand over Damon's mouth, interrupting his ranting. The action, innocent enough evoked a reaction in the both of them, but one that Damon was trying to squelch and Bonnie was finally allowing herself to feel. She raised an eyebrow at Damon who smirked underneath her soft fingertips. She felt her chest rise and fall as her breath came faster, her heart racing.

Bonnie was touching his lips, something she had thought about, dreamed about, over the course of their unorthodox relationship. She felt those lips curve upwards in a cocky grin that she had seen a thousand times and was subsequently burned into her memory.

Slowly, reluctantly, she pulled her hand away, meeting his grin with a mischievous one of her own.

"Just sit here, Damon. Sit here with me," she whispered.

Speechless and finding, once again, that he could not deny her, he hesitated, looking at his best friend before he laid back on the grass and gazed up at the familiar constellations. Bonnie lay back beside him and settled herself so that her arm was snuggled underneath his, her head resting on his shoulder.

Damon took a deep breath through his nose and breathed out a sigh. For six years now he had grown close to this girl. They had developed a friendship that he cherished. And every day of the last six years he had to remind himself that Bonnie was one of the good ones, if not the best, and Damon didn't deserve to get the good ones. Every day for six years Damon trained himself to shut down his urges when he was around Bonnie. He'd learned to lock down his muscles to keep his hands from compulsively roaming her face, arms, shoulders, back. He'd trained himself to hold his breath whenever she approached, so that her sweet unique scent, jasmine and lavender and something herbal, wouldn't overpower him and make him lose what small shred of control he had left. He was mostly able to stand being in her presence only by resorting to picking fights with her- like some childish schoolboy!- and antagonizing her; watching her aggravation seemed to keep him in his right mind and reminded him of how much she was disgusted and repelled by him. Yes, childish, but it worked for him.

So, Damon lay there beside the lovely little witch, body tensed, breathing through his mouth, and counting the seconds until they were no longer touching and he could relax again.

"Damon?" Bonnie said without looking away from the bright stars overhead.

"Bon-Bon?" Damon replied, oozing fake nonchalance.

He heard it when her heartbeat sped up and her breathing hitched. She cleared her throat and swallowed loudly.

"I need to tell you something."


	2. Chapter 2: Touch

**Touch**

"Okay, spill," he said, watching the side of her face, as, to his utter shock, tears welled in her eyes and then escaped, running slowly down her face and into her ears. Too late, she reached her right hand up to swipe away the evidence, then ran her hand over her hair before resting it back on her stomach.

She didn't know why she was crying. She was feeling so much- joy, embarrassment, anxiousness, pleasure, excitement, giddiness- she couldn't even begin to fathom how she would do this unspeakable task.

It was so deeply ingrained in her personality to put others first that when it finally came time to do this for herself, she had no clue where to start. She could not explain when these feelings had started, although she had an idea. The more her mind raced through their shared timeline, the more she kept returning to one moment. _I don't take what you did lightly._ The morning of the Founder's Day Parade, when Damon found her in the crowd and thanked her for removing the enchantment from the Gilbert Device and in effect saving his life. He had come across so genuine, more so than he had ever been with her before, and for a moment it had disarmed her. She could see through all the sarcasm and the pain he inflicted on those around him, and she saw something else in those blue, blue eyes. She couldn't name it, didn't want to. She walked away from him then and kept walking, for years. But after that day she knew there was something there inside of Damon, something worthy of her time, her patience.

Flash forward six years, countless deaths, and a prison world later and here they were, arm in arm, laying in the itchy grass of the Boarding House's backyard with Damon growing impatient, waiting for what was to come next.

"What is it, Bonnie?" he pried, and for once his voice was void of all his trademark cocky pretension. He was worried about her, she could tell. He knew when something was really bothering her, try as she might to hide it. And it didn't help that a stray tear or two betrayed her now and then.

With a sigh, Bonnie wrapped her hand around Damon's, anchoring herself and finding comfort in the gentle squeeze he gave her slender fingers.

There was a time when any touch Damon gave her was met with a shocked jerk as she yanked herself away from him. She wasn't like her friends, constantly giving and receiving physical contact, caresses, brushes, hugging and kissing; it was all a bit much for her. That wasn't the way she grew up, she'd always kept her hands to herself. So, yes, it shocked her when anyone casually reached out and put their hands on her, but with Damon it was particularly unsettling. After he'd bit and tried to kill her, and then the nightmares that ensued, she never trusted that he wouldn't hurt her. And she knew he could. No matter how often she threatened the excruciating pain of an aneurysm, she knew it would take very little effort on his part to take her out. Over the years, her reactions changed though, morphing from fear and loathing to a shocking amount of pleasure at the slightest whisper of a touch. Anytime he sprung to her rescue, saving her from evil vampires and witches, creepy crawlies (she hated bugs), and at times even herself, he would sweep her up and her breath stopped. He would whisk her away and she felt the warmth of his touch in every cell of her body, it reverberated in her limbs and lingered there for what seemed like hours. She found herself tensing, trying to prepare for the tingling fire she expected to spread throughout her. And it did, constantly. Even when he wasn't playing the knight in denim armor, and they were just hanging out at the boarding house and playing drinking games. In typical Damon fashion, drunk and without thought, he'd rest his hand on her knee, emphasizing some dumb idea or sick joke he had. And she'd freeze, all focus zeroing in on the source of the heat bombarding her senses. She couldn't help herself. These days she could not wait to be in his presence, within his reach, feeling his caress; she wanted it, needed it, and fantasized about it. But each passing touch was never long enough. How could it be? The man she desired was still in love with her best friend, what did she expect?

But tonight was different. Bonnie Bennett was different. Channeling Grams' spirit had released her from her daily anxieties. Grams was a woman that had lived and loved fiercely. She'd been married four times and was no stranger to romance and heartache. She wouldn't want her baby girl to miss out on a chance at love; that's what life was! Taking chances, risks, and leaps of faith. Grams had leapt so many times- she had the bruises, the stories, to prove it. But the point is that she had lived and she had loved.

And that's what she gave to Bonnie when she cast the channeling spell to find the oracle. Bonnie was so pent up and blocked that the spell had worked in more ways than one. She cast the spell seeking answers and guidance from her ancestors and Grams had answered, _Search within your heart. It's okay, the heart wants what it wants._ Bonnie had taken that as the sign she needed. It was like Grams had given her permission, her blessing, and the strength and courage to do the impossible: to love.

So, while she was nervous about what she was going to do, it didn't incapacitate her like it usually would. And besides, this was Damon. He didn't scare her, hadn't for a long time. And he needed to know the truth.

"Bonnie, you're killing me over here," Damon had had enough of the stalling. He knew what was coming. "Does that make you feel good? You have me out here to talk, in the grass, in the middle of the night, you're crying, I have no idea why, and I think you're enjoying it!" That got a small smile out of the witch.

"Oh, you're smiling now?! That's it then, you enjoy making me crazy, huh?" He reached out with his thumbs and forefingers and before he knew it he was tickling her midriff until she was curled into him, laughing and gasping for air.

There it was, that insanely gorgeous smile that twisted his heart and left him slightly lightheaded. He paused and just looked at her, eyes bright and cheeks flush, catching her breath, or rather struggling to catch her breath with Damon still half on top of her. His smile faded as control returned to him. He began to roll away from his beautiful witch, yet again reminding himself she could never truly be his, when her hands suddenly clutched at his shirt, stopping him, holding him there.

Staring him dead in the eyes, she blurted out,

"I like you Damon."

The way she said his name did things to him, wonderful things, and still he pushed them away; he pushed her away.

"Okay, now I know you're drunk," Damon laughed, brushing off his clothes as he rolled away from Bonnie and climbed to his feet.

"I'm not drunk, Damon, I haven't even had anything to drink," she told him, pushing herself up on her elbows, head cocked to the side with a playful glare on her face.

 _Great,_ she thought. _He thinks I'm drunk. Ugh, this is so not going well._ She had started out strong and sexy with flirtatiously leading him out here so they could be alone. Now, she was back to being all inside her own head, overthinking every little thing. She tried to focus on the feelings that brought her to this moment, the spirit that had moved her to follow her heart this time and let the chips fall where they may. _And the clothes_ , she thought wickedly.

"Well then, Honey, you are high as balls right now, because you are not making any sense at all!" He gasped suddenly. "You're possessed aren't you? Who are you, what'd you do with Bonnie, because I swear to god you sonuvabitch, if you don't bring her back-"

"Oh for the love of Pete, Damon." He was gripping her upper arms hard, searching her eyes for something unrecognizable, a clue as to who was wearing the skin of his witch, looking for an enemy to fight. Lord knows that's what he did best.

"You really need me to prove I'm ME? Fine, but you asked for it," and without further warning she flung the vampire backwards fifteen feet with a wave of her hand. With her hand outstretched she caught him before he could hit the ground. Next, she twirled her slender forefinger and sent him spinning head over heels 30 feet into the air and let him fall back toward the earth before catching him with a clench of her fist and a sly smile. She left him there, hanging upside down, with his head at her eyelevel.

"God, I should have known you wouldn't let me do this the easy way: we sit and talk like adults. You know, I say something, you say something, then I say something else, and you reply with something witty and undoubtedly vulgar yet surprisingly profound. You know, a CON-VER-SA-TION?" she pinched her fingers together, emphasizing each syllable. She pushed herself to her feet. "But noooo, you wanna call me a possessed, lushy, pothead for telling you how I really feel! That's kind of hurtful, Damon," she finished, circling around him, teasing him, watching his face turn red from all the blood rushing to his head.

"Yep. Definitely my Bon-Bon, judgey little speech and everything," he muttered to himself. He struggled, arms flailing, shirt falling down over his face exposing those hardened abs and that sexy V where his stomach met his hips that Bonnie just couldn't take her eyes off of. "You wanna put me down now, Bon? I'm dying here."

"Pssh, you're already dead! And you wanted to do this the hard way, so let's." Bonnie took another deep breath, preparing to make her speech.

"Damon-"

"Oh, god," the vampire drawled.

"Would you please shut up? I'm trying very hard to make a speech declaring my affections for you and you're ruining it," she huffed indignantly. And he laughed. He was actually laughing at her.

"You've got to kidding me. Your affections for me? That's a good one, Bon. You got me. Now, put me down."

She pretended to think about it a moment, "Uhhh, no. Why is this so unbelievable to you, Damon? I mean, you're no rocket scientist, by any means, but you're not dense either. It's obvious how I feel about you. You can't not have known."

"Known what?"

"Ugh, it's like you're not even listening to me!"

"Well, it's kind of hard to hear past the blood pounding in my ears! Dammit, Bonnie, let me go!" he growled at the girl.

Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look that she reserved especially for the jackass that she loved. A look that said 'You don't tell me what to do, I'm the baddest witch in town remember, do you really wanna push me? Yeah that's what I thought.'

He knew that look. He both loved and hated that look. But he knew he couldn't bully her when she got that look. He gave up struggling and let his arms hang over his head.

He looked pathetic. Totally vulnerable. Absolutely adorable. She loved him this way, unguarded and at her mercies. It usually took two bottles of bourbon to get him this way.

She waved her hand and let him go with a crash. He landed in a crumpled heap with a groan.

"Happy?" she mimicked his voice.

"Unh, extremely," he grunted.

Bonnie let out a sigh and went and knelt to her knees at his side. She kept her eyes down at his chest, feeling her nerves creeping back up on her. She swallowed, imagining her fear leaving her body and waited for Damon to say something. She counted to 30, adding the Mississippi's and everything, but eventually the silence was too much.

"Say something, Damon. Anything."

"What can I say, Bon," he sat up. "You just professed your 'affections' for me and then dropped me on my head."

She sucked her teeth. "You're fine. Did you really not know?" Bonnie whispered, suddenly unsure. All of her previous bluster and fire was blown out and she felt herself reverting, like a turtle back into its shell, pulling in on herself. Her shoulders drooping a little at the thought that all her months of flirting with him had been for naught.

Damon could see it on her face, in her misty hazel eyes, that he had hurt her feelings. Regret and self-loathing coursed through him instantly. How could he be the one to let that look return to her beautiful face? He thought he had seen the last of that look, had spent the last six months- in between battling heretics and solving the world's problems- trying to put a smile on her face. He hadn't intended to lead her on, but he had. Of course he had. Because that was what Damon Salvatore did, he hurt people. He hurt the people he cared about. No matter how much he tried, he just couldn't get a handle on the whole 'Do the Right Thing' concept. He just did what he wanted and consequences be damned. But Damon refused to risk Bonnie that way. Risk her happiness, or worse, her life, by being selfish enough to take what he wanted. No. No way in hell. That's how much cared about this exquisite little creature next to him. He cared enough not to let her make the biggest mistake of her young life.

Playing dumb was his only option.

"Bonnie," he murmured, letting her name roll over his tongue. "You are quite literally the best friend a guy like me could ever have, you know that, right?" He pulled her into his side for a tender hug, hoping to soften the blow of what he had to say next. "And I appreciate that you find me attractive, believe me, I do. But it's just a misplaced infatuation, Bon. I mean, we spend a majority of our time together, saving the world from bad guys, it's natural for one to develop feelings, feelings of hero worship," he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, taking in her disappointed look. "It's okay, I get it. And you're welcome. Kay? Now, let's get back inside."

He pulled away, patted her on her head like a dog, and stood to his feet, grunting like an old out of shape man instead of the eternal 28 year old that he was.

"Now that that's settled can we please turn our attention to the matter at hand? Vampire Barbie? The oracle? We need to locate it, Bon." And he walked away into the house.


	3. Chapter 3: Denied and Dangerous

Denied (and Dangerous)

Bonnie sat outside for a few minutes after Damon had shattered her heart and left her to bleed out on the ground (metaphorically this time).

She was stunned.

She couldn't quite grasp an understanding of just exactly what went wrong. The ghost of the excited energy and freedom she had felt before the…. Incident... It still churned in her stomach, mixing with the old familiar feelings of rejection and heartache. She could feel it, the rejection, settling back over her like an old quilt- hot, uncomfortable, and covering her completely.

This she recognized. Feeling unwanted felt like an old pass time to Bonnie.

Boys had always seems to want anything except what Bonnie had to offer. They wanted tall, she wore heels. They wanted long hair, she wore weaves. They wanted blondes, so she lightened her hair. They wanted ditsy, she had played dumb. And every single time people told her she was gorgeous, beautiful, stunning, funny even, but when it came time for a guy to ask her out or take her home, where were they? They were with the Elena's and Caroline's, and Vicki Donovan's of Mystic Falls.

But never Bonnie.

Bonnie sat basking for a few more minutes in her disappointment, struggling to keep the tears from falling. If she sat there any longer she wouldn't be able to.

" _Don't ever let 'em see you sweat"_ her father used to tell her.

" _Don't you let no little boy play wit you, Bonnie. A Bennett witch would never allow it"_ she heard her Grams telling her. _"You hold out for love, Baby. A man that loves you, would do anything for you, even wait."_

They were right, she thought to herself.

 _Boys aren't even worth my time_ , she was dusting off her old high school mantras, trying to give herself a pep talk as she literally dusted off and picked herself up.

 _Boys are a waste of time. I should be studying, trying to graduate, and focusing on myself and my magic._

She recited it twice more for good measure, not that she really bought it, before she headed inside the way Damon had gone.

Inside, Stefan was all but a blur as he anxiously paced the floor.

 _Crap, I forgot he was waiting for me_ , she thought briefly. _Oops._

Damon was at the wet bar, downing glassfuls of bourbon.

Stefan stopped in his tracks, feeling the tension between Damon and Bonnie, but otherwise said nothing about it.

"Well?" he asked, his face a mask of anxiety. "Do you know where it is?"

Bonnie didn't even break stride as she make her way for the front door.

"It's in Phoenix, I'll text you the address, you should hurry," she said in one breath, her voice noticeably devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

That was the best she could manage right then. She could feel herself coming apart at the seams, she was barely holding it together, but she refused to let them see her cry. No way was she going to let Damon see exactly how bad he'd hurt her.

"Bonnie…" Damon choked out, taking a step towards her.

But she was already gone. The door slammed behind her and he felt her absence like a rush of cold air.

Every cell in his body screamed at him to go after her and make this right, beg forgiveness. He took another step toward the exit, but just then he heard her car door open and after a huge wet sniff,

"Screw you, Damon Salvatore."

She shut her door hard, started the Mini Cooper and wasted no time racing down the gravel drive.

"Ouch," Stefan said, breaking Damon out of his emotional spiraling. "You, uh, you wanna talk about it?"

Damon just poured another glass of the liquid numbing agent and with a humorless laugh said, "Yeah. Just as soon as hell freezes over. Besides brother, we've got a road trip to get to."

* * *

 **This one was short, sorry. But the rest is coming. I'll update soon!**

 **-T**


	4. Chapter 4: Moving On?

Moving On?

It was two and a half weeks before Bonnie heard from Damon again. Caroline was returned home safely, out of the clutches of the heretics. Bonnie knew her friend was relaying status updates about her to Stefan, who was in turn sharing the info with Damon.

Not that there was much to tell. It wasn't like she was sitting around depressed or anything. In fact, she avoided sitting and thinking about the incident, and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, like the plague. She was keeping herself busy.

She finally took Ric up on his job offer and now she spent most of her time performing her TA duties. She could be found in Professor Saltzman's office, grading papers, organizing his lecture notes, and making sure he made it to his scheduled faculty meetings and advising sessions. The repetition of these menial tasks provided an escape for her mind and body to get lost in. She often found herself alone in Ric's office late at night, hours after he'd gone home (or out with the D word). Many a night she wound up down the rabbit hole, researching one topic or another in his vast collection of occult studies texts. While the material fascinated her and was supremely informative, deep down she knew she was just hiding from her problems.

…..

She'd spent the night after the incident working through the stages of her grief.

On the drive home from the Salvatore's house it was denial: she just could not believe that Damon had shut her down the way he did. She couldn't have imagined the vibes between them. She could not have made up all the looks that she'd caught over her shoulder, he checked her out frequently, and she knew it. Right? Or was she just delusional. Caught up in fantasizing about Elena's bad boy ex?

By the time she made it home to campus she was angry. Furious. Furious at herself for falling for him, the vampire that got her Grams killed, the man that tried to kill her and her friends multiple times. The man that cared for no one but himself and she fell for that?! Dear Lord, what had she been thinking?

She was pissed at Damon. All she ever did was help him out and this was the thanks she got? He had to be insane. He thought this was over? He thought she would just take this lying down? She's a Bennett witch dammit, and she was going to find a spell to turn him into…. Ugh. Something. She would turn him into something nasty, so no one fell for his stupid charms ever again.

It was several hours before the anger ran cold, and Bonnie was left feeling empty, depressed. She sat alone in her dorm room, throwing a good old fashioned pity party. Her dad was dead, along with Grams, and Elena was… Well, Elena just wasn't around anymore. Every guy she had ever fallen for had dumped her, or wound up dead. Matt chose Elena, Tyler chose Vicki, Jeremy chose Anna, Jamie said she had too much drama in her life- can't blame him there. And Damon, he just flat out didn't choose her. Her own Mom had walked out of her life. Multiple times.

Eventually, Bonnie cried herself out. Drowned her heartache in Ben and Jerry's. Then washed it down with cheap red wine. She spent the next two days in much the same fashion. Vegging on junk food and Netflix until her roommate returned, forcing her to get back to her lonely life. Acceptance.

…

And so she moved on, vowing to ignore her heart from now on; it only led to trouble.

Caroline, however, had no qualms about meeting problems head on. She had been trying to get her best friend out of her funk.

"Bonnie, this has got to stop," Caroline barged into Ric's office one afternoon.

"What are you talking about, Care, I'm busy grading papers," Bonnie glanced up from the terrible arguments and sentence fragments that were her constant company these days.

"Bonnie, I've barely seen you in the last two weeks, you're never at the dorm anymore. You've shut yourself in this dark and ugh, smelly little office, why? Because of Damon?" Her disgust for the older vampire was apparent in the way she said his name. Caroline watched as hurt flashed across Bonnie's face before she swiftly reigned it in. "That is completely unacceptable. I will not accept it anymore. Besides, you're doing this all wrong!" she threw her hands up in frustration.

"Doing what wrong?" Bonnie responded. "I've got the rubric right here. Not that any of these papers are in danger of setting the curve, these people no clue what is really out there-"

"I'm not talking about the papers, Mulder!" Caroline interrupted.

With a sigh, the tired witch re-capped her red marker and tossed it on the crowded but tidy desk (her work of course), knowing her friend had no intentions of stopping until Bonnie agreed to leave the room.

"I'm talking about this break up."

"It wasn't a breakup, Care."

"Well, you sure could have fooled me, the way you're acting. This is not good for you. I've let you do it your way long enough, but I can't watch this anymore, it's too sad."

"I am not sad, I am moving on, focusing on other things, like my own life for once."

"By locking yourself in this dungeon? God, Bonnie, I can't EVEN believe I have to say this out loud! Everyone knows the best way to get over someone is to get under someone new."

As much as Bonnie wanted to argue with the leggy blonde, she knew it was useless. Caroline was bigger and stronger and, Bonnie hated to admit it but, she was probably right this time. And she was getting kind of bored with the topic of this week's essays.

"Fine," she conceded defeat gracelessly. "What did you have in mind?"

Bonnie recognized the slightly maniacal glint growing in Caroline's eyes and knew she was going to regret whatever came next.

…..

Stefan gritted his teeth, attempting to literally grin and bear it. The thumping of the bass from the techno beat had him slightly on edge, but he was trying to get over it. He had, after all, promised to show his brother a good time.

Earlier today, Stefan had walked into the living room of the Salvatore Boarding house and found his brother laying on the antique Persian rug, staring into space. Unfortunately, this had been his default position for the last week and a half, ever since they'd returned from Phoenix with the oracle and made a bargain with the heretics for Caroline.

On the road, Damon had been focused. He had of course been drinking about 75 percent of trip, but that wasn't so unlike Damon's usual behavior, so Stefan was less than concerned.

But when they arrived back in Mystic Falls, Damon shut himself in his room for two days. This was what alerted Stefan to the extent of his brother's… condition. Stefan was used to watching his brother act out anytime he was hurt; he was a spoiled brat and he showed it best when things didn't go his way. The younger of the two Salvatore brother's was expecting the older to fly into a drunken rage any day now, pitching a fit, throwing things, lashing out at the few people who he could still call friends.

Damon refused to talk about it, though, and after the second day spent isolated in his bedroom, he returned to the land of the living, pun intended, like nothing had ever happened. Like Stefan hadn't heard him playing the same Boyz II Men album on repeat for hours on end.

Though he had quit his self-imposed stint in solitary confinement, it would seem that he had merely moved the party downstairs. He could be found, for a week straight, laying around, empty bottles and blood bags collecting at his feet, and mumbling to himself in a drunken haze about second chances and the nature of the beast. Stefan honestly had a hard time following his brother's line of thought and in the end he didn't need to.

Caroline, all caught up on the drama by Stefan and filled in on the details by Bonnie, had taken it upon herself to fix the entire situation.

"I mean, look at him Stefan. Have you ever seen Damon like _that_? Over a girl? It's like someone died and he's grieving. But it's just a fight, I'm sure they can move past it if they would just talk. To each other," his beautiful meddling girlfriend informed him. And she tried. She told Damon to call Bonnie. He refused. She told him Bonnie was miserable, too. He still refused, though he seemed slightly cheered to hear that the witch missed him. She then made Stefan talk to him, but that only led to the both of them drunk and singing along to Guns-n-Roses.

So, she devised this genius plan. The plan that resulted in Stefan standing in a club in Brooklyn; one of Damon's old stomping grounds, trying to appear as if he were enjoying himself.

"See?" he said above the music, knowing the vampire next to him would hear. "What did I tell you? You just needed to get out of that room, that house, that town. And I do know how to have a good time!"

"Yeah, yeah, Stefan. Good job, you discovered my weakness: half-drunk, scantily clad twenty-somethings with a pulse," Damon smirked and downed his third double shot of tequila. They were at the bar and Damon was surveying the large room, selecting a target worthy of his attentions. His eyes landed on a red haired young woman in the middle of the dance floor, swinging her hips in time to the music, tossing her long blood red tresses back and forth without a care in the world.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, brother." Damon left his brother standing there without another glance and joined the girl on the floor, his arms around her waist.

Stefan sighed, and ordered another drink. It had worked. He'd successfully gotten Damon out of the house and delivered to the club for a guy's night out. He saw Damon out on the crowded floor dancing and having a good time. He thought that even if Caroline couldn't manage to drag Bonnie out here tonight the evening wouldn't be a complete waste. It was worth it to see his brother up and moving again.

Stefan's phone vibrated in his back pocket and he pulled it out to read a text from Caroline. 'We r here!' it read. _Well,_ he thought, accepting his drink with a polite smile. _Here we go._


	5. Chapter 5: In the Club Like

In the Club Like...

"Come on! The VIP area is upstairs!" Caroline shouted over the music excitedly, taking Bonnie's hand as they danced their way through the crowded room.

Bonnie was convinced that Caroline had been planning this night for several days now, but Caroline insisted it had come to her just this morning...

…..

After confronting Bonnie in Alaric's office, Caroline pulled out a garment bag she'd been hiding by the door and informed her best friend that they were going out.

"We are going out for a girl's night! Just you and me and the sexiest men Brooklyn!"

"Brooklyn?! We're going to New York? Tonight? Care, it's a school night," Bonnie was trying to quickly invent a reason she couldn't go, but nothing but the lamest of excuses came to her.

"School night? What are we fourteen?" Caroline started pulling things out of her oversized duffel bag of a purse. "Here, I have everything we need already. There's no time to go back to the room. Are you in?" she pulled a bottle of tequila from her purse and held it out to Bonnie.

Bonnie took the neck of the bottle, debating in her mind what to do. On the one hand she had class the next day, but it was a Friday and her professor (Ric) had a tendency of letting her slide and makeup the work. It had been months since she'd actually had any fun, real cut loose fun, and she needed a break from her life.

So she cracked the seal on the bottle of Jose, the only man who was consistently there for her. "I'm in," she said and turned the bottle up.

Bonnie was in awe of the lengths that Caroline had went to to make this night one to remember. Or not remember as the case may be.

Bonnie was not expecting the black stretch Cadillac Escalade waiting for them outside the building, but Caroline just squealed and climbed in the backseat with her Mary Poppins bag of tricks while Bonnie toted the clothes bag.

The inside of the limo was lit by multicolored LED lights on the ceiling and in the bar along the passenger side of the car. This was certainly different that the limos Bonnie had ridden in before, but of course she had been attending a funeral those times.

The compelled driver closed the door behind them and moved to the front while Bonnie explored the rest of the interior.

"Okay, okay. A toast!" Caroline had poured two shots of tequila and passed one off to Bonnie. "Tonight, we will dance. Tonight, we will flirt. And by God, tonight we will make bad decisions with boys we don't know! Cheers!"

This was how Bonnie came to be dancing her heart out in the VIP lounge of the hottest club in Brooklyn, living out her Sex in the City fantasy. Her hair was flying all over the place, sweat pouring down her back and she couldn't care less.

Caroline had dressed her in six inch studded, black suede, peep toe ankle boots with a high-waisted black leather skirt that stopped just below her curvy ass and showed off her creamy brown legs and thighs. Her oversized, off the shoulder white crop top was see through, revealing her tight tummy and the rhinestone studded black bra she wore underneath.

She had to admit, she looked great. She felt sexy, and a tiny bit trashy, but she liked it. It added to the adventure of the evening.

Caroline had chosen a black dress that clung to her body like the candy coating on a M&M. The neckline plunged dangerously low and the back even lower, showing off her flawless pale skin.

The girls were dressed to kill and getting into the VIP had been easy, even without compulsion.

They could feel eyes on them as they crossed to the center of the dimly lit area to join the other young women on the floor. Every man in the upper level of the club watched as they grinded on each other to the thumping of the house music.

Caroline grabbed Bonnie's hands and pulled them up so their arms were above their heads.

Leaning in, she spoke into Bonnie's ear, "Okay, a very cute guy approaching at your 6."

Curious, she pulled Caroline's hands down over her and rocked her hips as she turned in the other direction.

The guy was cute, and just her type: tall, dark, and eyes only on her. Perfect, she nodded.

"Go get 'em, Tiger!" Caroline slapped her on the booty and pushed her his way before she disappeared to the bar to watch.

Bonnie danced by herself for a few moments, arms over her head, lifting her hair off her back and shoulders, showing off. She planted her feet before she stuck her butt out, aimed it at her prey, and then dropped it low and slowly worked her way back up.

By the time she turned around again Mr. Perfect was there with his hands on her hips, matching her rhythmic sway.

He bent his head down and put his lips to her ear, "Was all of that for me?"

"All of what?" she asked with an innocent smile. "This?" And she turned facing away and put her ass on him, grinding.

Bonnie was grinning wildly. She knew she was drunk and she was enjoying every minute of it.

The guy had his hands all over her and she felt so good. She danced away all of her frustrations until she felt herself growing wet.

This man was turning her on and she didn't even know him.

She turned around and put her arms around his neck while they rocked to the beat. He slid his muscled thigh between her legs and she almost lost her balance, but he was right there with his arms around her, his large hands running up and down her back.

She stretched up on her tiptoes, trying to reach his ear. He bent his head forward and met her halfway.

She could smell his cologne all around her and it only made her more aroused.

"What's your name, stranger?" she asked breathlessly, her lips brushing his ear.

The music changed, and the intro to the next song was quieter as he said, "I'm Damien. It's nice to meet you, beautiful."

"What?!" Bonnie jerked back when she heard that name, stumbling out of the sultry little bubble they'd created on the crowded floor, backing into the couple behind her.

Mr. Right held his arms out to her, catching her as the other couple bumped into her.

"What did you just say?" She was feeling a little crazy. Was he messing with her, was this a joke?

"I said my name is Day-mi-en," he enunciated over the music. "What's yours?" He pulled her back to his body as her mind and emotions were reeling.

"Um, I'm –" she shook her head, remembering just in time the fake names she and _Amber_ had agreed upon in the car on the way from Virginia. "I'm Nicole."

She tried taking a deep breath to clear her head. She looked up into the man's handsome smooth face, realizing he just wasn't as sexy as she'd first thought.

"Buy me a drink, Damien?" And they headed for the bar.

Caroline had watched the entire scene from the moment Bonnie had reeled the sexy stranger in with that delicious little booty of hers. _I knew that skirt would make her ass look phenomenal!_

She had already texted Stefan thirty minutes ago to let him know they had arrived. He'd texted back that he was at the bar downstairs and she spotted him from over the rail of the balcony level and waved. He raised his glass at her, and she saw his eyes widen as he took in her outfit. She grinned and turned a sexy little circle, modeling for her man. He bit his lip and mumbled under his breath "Damn, woman." Then he shook his head and mouthed "This plan better work."

She could almost hear it from where she stood, a hundred feet away, on the other side of the club, but she knew what he was thinking regardless.

Her plans hadn't always gone the way she wanted, but this one was easy. It was Rom-Com 101. Step (1) Look hot. She glanced back over at Bonnie who was following (2) her super sexy new friend down to the bar where (3) a jealous Damon was ordering another drink.

Caroline couldn't waited to see Damon's face when he got a look at Bonnie. She was devastating tonight, radiating sex from her full red lips to her wild curls. Damon would be a fool not to notice her, everyone else did. From the moment they'd entered the club Bonnie was turning down guys left and right, just trying to get to the bar.

And then Caroline had picked the perfect guy for her: tall, broad shoulders, dark skin, clean haircut, and expensive shoes. _I mean, forget Damon,_ she thought. _This guy's got my vote._

Caroline hurried down the stairs behind them in a flash and grabbed Bonnie's arm before she could get away.

"Bathroom break?" She raised her eyebrows meaningfully, then said to the new guy, "Excuse us, we'll be right back."

Bonnie looked over her shoulder as Caroline tugged her away from Mr. Right.

"Vodka tonic," she called out and smiled, letting her friend tow her down a dim hallway.

"Make it two!" Caroline hollered, laughing.

They reached the large, crowded ladies room and began adjusting themselves, wiping the sweat from from their foreheads, neck, chest, waiting for a stall to open up. Bonnie took one look at her hair and heaved a sigh.

"Shut up, you look hot!" Care said, reading her mind.

"Yeah, a hot mess." She turned away from the mirror over the sinks and skipped to a now vacated stall. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Care. I mean did you see that guy? Pretty cute and he could dance. Not bad at all," she said, conversing over the door.

"Not bad? He's sexy as hell, Bonnie! What do you mean, 'not bad'?" Caroline was reapplying her dark red lipstick at the mirror.

"I mean, he was cute alright, but…"

"But, he's no Damon?" the blonde finished the sentence, rolling her eyes. Bonnie exited the stall, twisting the short skirt on her hips, checking herself out, before putting her hands under the running water.

"He's cute, he seems nice, that's all I'm saying." Caroline told her, handing over a paper towel. "And you looked like you were enjoying yourself out there." She stuck her butt out, imitating Bonnie's moves.

Bonnie's mouth opened in partial embarrassment, partial pride.

"Girl, I was gettin' it, wasn't I? I can't help it, you know how I get."

"Oh, yes, I know."

"Anyway," Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Let's go find you a guy to dance dirty with!" She grabbed her friend's hand and started for the door but Caroline held her back.

"What's up?" Bonnie's eyes were bright and excited as her eyebrows pulled up.

"I already have someone to dance with, Bonnie," Caroline was hedging the subject that had brought them out tonight in the first place.

"Oh? Who is he?" Bonnie inquired with a wicked grin.

"It's Stefan," confessed Caroline. Bonnie's smiled dropped immediately.

"Care!" Bonnie whined out. "You said it was just you and me and all the hot guys in Brooklyn. And then you brought your boyfriend?"

"I didn't bring him! They just showed up!" she lied. Badly.

"I'm sorry? They?" Bonnie's voice dropped low, hoping she'd misheard.

Nodding, Care told her, "Yeah, Damon's here too."

Bonnie pulled her hand away from Caroline's, crossing her arms over her chest. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! I swear," Her innocent look fooled no one, especially Bonnie Bennett.

"Dammit, Caroline, why is he here?" Bonnie was yelling now, drawing looks from the other women in the restroom.

Caroline stepped closer to Bonnie, trying to avoid a scene.

"Okay, fine. I just wanted him to see everything he was missing out on while he was busying being an ass. You're a catch Bonnie and he deserves to rue the day he let you get away." Her eyes were fierce, like she was trying to compel Bonnie to believe her, begging her not to be mad anymore.

"Caroline Forbes. You really are the greatest friend ever, aren't you?" Bonnie pulled the blonde ball of ambition in for a hug. "All this to help me get a guy you can't even stand."

Bonnie was perking back up, glad to be in on the plan. She hated surprises.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, Bon. This is mostly to make him feel like an idiot." She smirked as they went back out to the dance floor.

* * *

"Can you believe her?" Damon said for the umpteenth time.

"She is pretty," the little redhead that had caught his attention earlier was still hanging off his every word.

Damon glared at her briefly before returning his glare to Bonnie and her 'date' on the dance floor.

"She's absolutely stunning, but that's not the point," he tipped his glass back and signaled the bartender for another round.

"Then what is your point?" Stefan asked, perched on the barstool next to Damon, grinning like a fool. He finally had Caroline next to him, the smug bastard. Damon cursed again. He should've known something was up when it was just the two of them for "Boys Night". Stefan and vampire Barbie were practically inseperable these days.

"Ugh, my point, Stefan, is that I can't believe she thinks she can beat me at this game –I invented this game!" Damon spat, turning his back on the dance floor, only to find the scene reflected in the mirror behind the bar.

He had first seen the little witch and her blonde sidekick approaching him from the dance floor and his jaw almost dislocated itself. It was like the whole room disappeared, there was only Bonnie.

And Bonnie was hot. Of course, he had always thought her beautiful, but this was different, if the instant hard-on in his pants was any indication.

Damon hadn't seen her in weeks and he had spent the last week and half trying to come up with the words to apologize to her and get their friendship back. He'd come up with nothing that she would accept and had spent the rest of his time, much to his chagrin, fantasizing about what she could be up to. Whether or not she was as miserable as he was. Clearly he was wrong! She was out partying like a … well, like a college girl!

She was half naked! His entire nature warred with itself for a moment as his eyes followed her slinky movements. His manhood swelled as he watched her swing her hips toward him, her walk affected by the six inch hooker pumps, her thighs sliding past each other with every step she took closer to him. God, but he wanted her, he'd take her right here on this bar if he wasn't careful.

His darker nature was fixated on the thudding beat of her heart, which he could pick out of the crowd even though she was still yards away. She looked good enough to eat; his favorite kind of meal, young, hot, vibrant. He licked his lips, forcing himself to rein in his fangs and push these thoughts away. But he had to acknowledge they were there; it disturbed him to think of Bonnie as food.

And then, last, his old fashioned protective side kicked in, thinking ' _What the hell is she wearing? She's just begging for it! Look at those shoes, she can't run away from anything in those shoes, she'll break her neck!'_

When she finally reached the bar, Damon was still trying to form a coherent sentence, planning to chastise her for her impractical choice of footwear, when she called out, "Damien!"

 _Great, and she's wasted!_ He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, with a grin. But when he looked back he realized she wasn't talking to him at all.

She was throwing her arms around some guy a few feet down the bar from him, pushing in beside him, her body mashed up against his, smiling up at his face.

"Is this for me?" she smiled sweetly at him. Taking the drink sitting in front of him, she brought the glass level with her chin and slipped the straw between her succulent lips.

Damon's mouth was hanging open during her entire little entrance but it snapped closed when that total stranger bent his head to her neck and whispered into her ear " _Baby, this is all for you"_ then kissed her shoulder, his hands moving down her back to her –

"Bonnie!"

Damon was off his stool, dragging his angry eyes off the hand that was currently squeezing his best friend's ass. The hand that was about to be ripped off in the next two seconds.

"Damon?" Bonnie finally looked at him, and he recognized the look of feigned surprise on her beautifully made up face.

"What are you doing here?" her voice was two octaves too high, she wasn't fooling anyone.

Her wide shouldered date was looking back and forth between them.

"I could ask you the same thing. Who the hell is this guy?" he looked the stranger up and down.

Bonnie was wedged between the man's legs, looking smug as she turned her back to the bar and Damien rested his arm around her small frame.

He stuck his hand out, introducing himself, "Hey, I'm Damien. And you are?"

The vampire refused to shake his hand, knowing he'd probably break all his fingers, as angry as he was right now. He just glared at him. _What is this guy a linebacker? Hmph, I could still take him._

"I am talking to her, not you, Muscles."

Bonnie was sipping on her straw, watching the two men size each other up, when Damien stood from his barstool, gently moving Bonnie out from between the two men, and towering over her and Damon both. She quickly finished her drink, secretly loving the scene they were causing.

"Actually, you're not. It was nice seeing you again Damon," and she dragged the linebacker out to the dance floor where she proceeded to all but jump his bones.

Stunned, he turned back to Stefan only to find Vampire Barbie holding her phone up and recording him.

Pulling himself together, he asked "Can I help you?" and shoved past her to his place at the bar and ordered another drink.

"Oh no, no. I got everything I needed." She grinned superiorly at him. "What's the matter Damon? You look a little rattled. And you've got a little drool, right there," she touched the corner of her mouth, "you might wanna get that."

"What the hell are you doing, Barbie? Huh? Why are you here?" he pushed into her space, threatening her.

"We're all just here for a good time, right Stef?" she said as Stefan circled his arms around her from behind.

"That's right, we're just here having fun, Damon, that's all. Relax," Stefan had his serious face on, and Damon realized he was close to losing it.

Looking at Barbie's smug face, Damon understood now that that was their plan.

"Oh that's all, huh? I see right through you two. You're trying to make me jealous, but it won't work. I don't get jealous," he reached for the glass the bartender set in front of him and took a sip.

Caroline leaned toward him. "Now, why would Bonnie dancing with another man make you jealous? It's not like you like her or anything. Right?" she cocked her head to the side, examining his reaction through her narrowed eyes.

"Right. Exactly right. What do I care?"

And he grabbed what's-her-name and pulled her out to the dance floor.

* * *

"So, do you live around here?" Damien asked.

"What?" Bonnie yelled over the music.

She was tired of dancing with this guy and she was actually ready to go home, but every time she looked over and saw that bastard Damon surrounded by hordes of women, her resolve strengthened and she'd throw her ass back a little more vigorously, channeling her inner Beyonce, and laugh a little louder.

This had been going on for the last two hours and it was close to four in the morning, the club would close soon.

Bonnie was wasted for real now. She knew better than to try to keep up with Damon and she did it anyway. Since their time together in the prison world, Bonnie's tolerance had gone up tremendously, but she was still no match for the lushy vampire.

Damien, The Linebacker as Damon kept referring to him, was practically holding her up; she was hot, dizzy, and falling all over the place, laughing at everything. She was about to admit defeat when Damien started leading her off the dance floor.

Stefan and Caroline had found a dark couch in a corner and were making out like teenagers. Bonnie was on her own.

"Wherewegoin?" her words slurred, as she leaned into his strong side.

"We're just going to sit down for a few minutes." He had turned out to be more than just eye candy, he was a gentleman, too.

"Tha's good cus I'm propaply drunk," she diagnosed as she plopped down on the low couch and slumped over on her side.

"Yeah, probably." He grinned and watched her close her eyes.

"I should get you home," he said, shaking her arm. "Do you live around here?"

"Hmpf va fas," she mumbled into the seat of the couch.

"Is that in Jersey?" he chuckled.

"I've got it from here." Damon had appeared out of nowhere at the guy's side without a sound.

"Whoa, I didn't see you there. So you know where stays?" he leaned away from the vampire instinctively.

"I said I'll take her home," Damon insisted fiercely, compelling Bonnie's dance partner. "You should leave now."

The linebacker hesitated a moment before shaking his head clear.

"Thanks, man. I'ma just close my tab and get out of here. 'Preciate i!" He left Bonnie curled up on the couch.

"Not a problem," Damon watched him make his way through the thinning crowd. "Dick."

"What the hell Damon!" Caroline popped up at his side.

"What? What did I do now?" his eyes were wide and his brow furrowed. How was he the one in trouble for keeping some stranger from taking Bonnie god knows where.

Caroline slapped him in the stomach with the back of her hand, harder than necessary.

"She's totally shitfaced and it's all your fault!" she sat down and put her hand on Bonnie's forehead.

"Hmmmh," Bonnie whimpered.

"Bonnie, it just me, Care. Can you wake up for me?" Caroline pulled her heavy, damp hair off her back, hoping to cool her down some.

"How is her getting shitfaced my fault?" He asked dropping down to sit next to the two women. "Last I checked, she was an adult. Besides, I'm not her father."

"No, but you're supposed to be her friend. You should've stopped her."

"I tried, if you'll recall. I told her she couldn't drink like me." His face was smug, his eye lids half closed.

"Yeah, knowing she'd take that as a challenge."

"Whatever, she's not that wasted. She hasn't even come out of her clothes yet. That's when Fun Bon makes her appearance."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not sitting right here," is what Bonnie tried say. Unfortunately, it came out unintelligible.

"I know sweetie, I know," Caroline rubbed circles on her friends back and shot Damon a look.

"Here," Stefan had returned with a glass of water.

"Thanks babe," Caroline said, glad for some actual help.

"Oh, yes, thank you brother! You're always so kind and helpful!" Damon drawled, teasing his brother.

Bonnie laughed in her semi-sleep. Listening to Damon make fun of Saint Stefan brought back memories of the prison world, good memories. They'd spent hours and hours entertaining themselves doing Stefan impressions.

Caroline tried to get Bonnie to sit up and drink some water, knowing she'd have the hangover from hell tomorrow.

Bonnie tried to insist that she just needed to keep her eyes closed for a little while until the room stopped spinning.

"Just let her sit for a minute. She'll throw up in a little while and then she'll be good as new," Damon chimed in. Bonnie prayed Care would listen to him just this once.

"I'm not going to let her sit here and throw up on herself, Damon. God," Caroline looked at him like he was crazy. "Come on, Stefan, help me get her to the hotel."

"Hotel?" Damon repeated, perking up at the idea of a place to crash and not having to drive back to Virginia tonight.

"Yes, hotel," Caroline sighed. "I had a feeling one of us would need it, I just wasn't sure who." She winked at Stefan, who blushed and sent back a look that said he was already half through undressing her in his mind.

From her ball on the couch, Bonnie mentally rolled her eyes.

Damon gagged. "Ew. Well, I hope there's room for four. I love slumber parties." With that, he jumped to his feet cutting in front of his brother to get to Bonnie's side. He put his jacket around her slim shoulders and scooped her up.

"Come on Bonbon," he whispered in her ear, delighted when she sighed in response. "Let's get outta here."

Her eyes fluttered open a crack and caught his with that wicked half-cocked grin of his. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, running her fingers through the dark sweaty hair at the base of his neck, and relaxed into him completely, resting her head next to his.

"Jerk," she sighed, before going back to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Morning After

Morning After

Bonnie awoke to someone moving in the bed beside her. She pulled the covers tighter up over her shoulders and burrowed closer to the warm body snuggled around her, hoping sleep would retake her.

 _Wait, whose bed is this? And who else is in it?_

Her eyes were pounding as she let her hand feel out whoever was beside her.

"Morning, Sunshine." Bonnie snatched her away.

 _Oh, god. It's a man!_

She peeled her eyes open one at a time, preparing herself for harsh sunlight but the caution was unnecessary. The shades were pulled closed and the room was dim.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked.

Through the pounding pain behind her eyes, Bonnie recognized that voice. She knew the voice and who it was attached to. She just couldn't understand he was in her bed.

 _This cannot be happening! What the hell happened last night?_

"Pretty good, considering. You?"

At that voice, Bonnie's eyes snapped open and her head whipped to the side to see Caroline's face lying on the pillow beside hers.

Bonnie slowly turned her head back and found Stefan on her other side.

"What the fuck?" Bonnie groaned. Her throat was scratchy and sore; she could taste bile on her tongue and she knew immediately she'd been beyond wasted last night.

"Uhhh… god," she groaned, untangling her arms and legs from around Stefan, who was grinning down at her.

"How you feeling gorgeous?" He asked her as she pulled the cover over her head again, scooting as far as she could from Stefan and into the girl on her other side.

"Nnnnngggggh." Grunting was about all the communication she could manage as she continued to assess the situation.

 _Okay, Bonnie,_ she thought. _What do we know?_

 _I am in bed with Stefan and Caroline. That's disturbing, so I'll come back to that._

 _It's not my bed._

Bonnie peeked her head out of the covers attempting to see the rest of her surroundings. The room was dim but she could make out a couch and a long dresser, a flat screen tv on one wall and a wide mirror on the other. There were two doors and through the open one she could see part of a sitting area.

A Hotel suite, and a nice one too. Everything was upholstered in shades of cream but it looked fancier than a Holiday Inn.

 _So, I'm in a hotel bed with Stefan and Caroline, and…. 3.) I'm not wearing pants. Or a bra._

Her bare legs rubbed one another as she pushed herself into a sitting position with her back against the embellished headboard. She was still foggy and moving slowly, her stomach reacting to the motion, but she didn't think she'd be sick again.

She looked down at the black t-shirt she wore, realizing it was twice her size and belonged to someone else. Bonnie pulled the collar up to her face and sniffed at it.

Damon's, she rolled her eyes.

"Here, Sherlock, drink," Caroline passed her a bottle of water.

Bonnie's fingers clumsily fumbled around the cap for a second before Stefan took it from her, opened it easily and returned it to her.

"Thanks," she croaked.

"You are certainly welcome," he was still grinning at her, and it made her nervous and self-conscious.

After taking a small sip of water and letting it burn its way down, she cleared her throat.

"So, um. Uh, we didn't, ah… um." She looked back and forth between Caroline who was checking her phone and Stefan who was still checking Bonnie. "You know."

"What? Make passionate love until the sun came up? You can't remember? I'm hurt, that was some of my best work," he whispered, putting an arm around her shoulders and sliding closer.

Bonnie gasped, "We did what?" Her eyes were wide, her mouth hung open as she searched her brain for the last thing she remembered before she passed out.

"Oh stop it, Stefan, before she freaks out and sets someone else on fire." Caroline looked from her phone examined Bonnie's alarmed expression.

"You're fine, none sex was had last night. Believe me," she said with a smirk that was equal parts amused and irritated. Okay, maybe a tad more irritated than amused.

Bonnie finally relaxed at that. Now that she was reassured that a three-way between her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend hadn't occurred, she could move on to other subjects, like, "So, why am I in your bed and where are my clothes?"

"Well, Miss Bennett, I'm _still_ trying to figure out that first one, but as for your clothes, I'm pretty sure they're everywhere," Caroline said in a tone that was trying hard not to be judgmental but was failing miserably. A tone that told Bonnie she'd been a mess last night and she owed Caroline big.

The witch rolled out from under Stefan's arm and smothered Caroline in a hug.

"I'm really, really, really, really sorry for whatever I did and I thank you, thank you, thank you, for putting up with me. I owe you one," Bonnie recited, punctuating the apologies and gratitude with kisses all over friends face. Caroline, smiled at last and wiped her face off but apparently all was forgiven.

"I'm going to need details on what happened, but first bathroom," and she maneuvered over Caroline and carefully placed her bare feet on the soft carpet. She stood gingerly, taking her time, testing her stomach to make sure she wouldn't vomit.

Bonnie trudged her way into the large bathroom and stood at the sink.

The damage wasn't so bad, she thought, examining herself in the mirror.

Her hair was a mess, but that wasn't so surprising. Her eye makeup was jacked, but also understandable.

What was a surprise was the red and purple bruises on her neck and shoulder. There were no puncture wounds, but someone had definitely been sucking on her neck. It had been a while, but she knew a hickey when she saw one… _or three?_

She stared at herself a moment, shaking her head, and remembering dancing all night at the club, and the look on Damon's face when he saw her! Priceless. Totally worth the drive. Now, if she could just figure out what happened after that…?

She cleaned herself up and went out into the bedroom to find Caroline and Stefan making out in the space she'd just vacated.

"Oh, guys, really?!" she said, covering her eyes with one hand, pulling her shirt down over her butt with the other.

"Then leave!" Care laughed, launching a pillow across the room at her.

It hit Bonnie's legs as she skipped out of the bedroom, yelling, "I'm going, I'm going!" and closing the door tight behind her.

The sitting area of the suite was beautiful and Bonnie could see that her first impression was correct: the place was fancy, totally top dollar. It looked like the kind of place royalty stayed at.

Caroline was also correct: her clothes were all over. Her shirt was on the back of a chair at the dining table, her skirt sat in a puddle by another door that she guessed led to a second bedroom. Her right boot was on the coffee table.

Bonnie sighed and pressed her hands to her face, willing her memories to piece together.

She crossed the room to the wall of windows and looked out to see a city skyline.

New York City.

She was looking at downtown Manhattan. The view allowed her to see across the city, so she must be fairly high up.

 _Caroline,_ Bonnie thought, shaking her head. Of course she was in a beautiful hotel suite in one of the most amazing cities on earth and she had no idea how she got there.

Bonnie leaned her head on the cool glass of the window and closed her eyes.

She remembered being at the club. She remembered dancing with that one guy all night and- Her eyes flew open and her hand met her neck.

Was that how she'd gotten these love bites? Good god, she'd let a total stranger mark her up?!

She couldn't remember it, but what was the other option?

But where was he now?

Just then, like an answer to her silent question, she heard the shower start in the second bedroom.

Immediately, her heart was racing and she was in danger of hyperventilating. There was strange man, naked, in the shower, in the next room. And she had no idea what to do about it.

 _Okay, Bennett, calm down and think._ Bonnie took a deep breath in and out. Her stomach was still tender and her head wasn't feeling much better, but she felt like she should be able to function.

She couldn't run back into the room with Stefan and Caroline; they were likely indecent by now and if they weren't Caroline would probably kill her if she interrupted again.

She couldn't flee the hotel room, though she considered making a run for it.

After a few more moments of deliberation, she gave up and sat down on the couch. No, she'd have to take her morning after, walk of shame, confrontation like a adult.

And like the 'adult' that she was, she sat there in the corner of the couch, and pulled her knees to her chest, and found a large Hello Kitty Band-Aid covering her left knee.

She stuck her legs out in front her, examining the damage she'd missed before. She pulled at the corner of the bandage, hoping to figure out the extent of her injury.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice sounded from behind her, causing her to scream out loud.

She whipped her head around and was met with a full frontal view of a very naked Damon Salvatore.

"For Christ's sake, Damon, what the hell! You scared the crap outta me!" Bonnies hand was at her chest trying to keep her heart from jumping out. She was totally red in the face, she felt the blush warming her skin all over, but it was desire melting her insides.

Quickly she turned back around, facing away from the glistening wet vampire, who was using his towel to dry off his dripping hair before he wrapped it low around his hips and tucking it in to hide his prized possession.

"It's pretty gross, you don't want to see it. Trust me," he wiggled his eyebrows and sauntered over to a wet bar and poured himself a glass of champagne. "I meant your knee, of course, but if you want a look at the package, all you've gotta do is ask, sweet heart."

He turned to face her and she realized she'd been caught staring at his backside, almost willing the towel to fall off.

Her teeth snapped together audibly and she rolled her eyes, continuing her examination of her band-aid.

"In your dreams, Salvatore. Get over yourself," she mumbled to her lap.

She was relieved that it wasn't a stranger that came out of that room, but she wasn't sure how to feel about it being Damon instead.

She was confused as she relentlessly picked at the bandage. On the one hand, it was Damon and she knew he wouldn't hurt her, physically anyway. But on the other hand, she was slightly scared to think that he was the one that might have put the hickeys on her neck. She just wished she remembered it…

They hadn't talked, really talked, since the Incident a couple weeks ago, where she, you know, confessed her feelings for him and he'd shot her down.

All those hurt feelings returned to her, but in the same instant she realized just how much she'd missed her friend. No matter how bad he'd hurt her, still she missed him.

Now, of course that irritated her.

And on top of everything else she was hungover!

Bonnie sat sulking in all her feelings, not knowing what to say and trying her best to pull off the damn band-aid that must have welded on.

She heard Damon sigh right before he appeared in front of her, sitting on the coffee table, his towel thankfully still in place.

"Will you stop?" he said, grabbing her hands away from her knee.

She pulled her hands roughly out his and put them in her lap, a scowl on her face.

Damon pulled her leg over his knee and began, gently, slowly, pulling the adhesive bandage back, so she could see for herself the rough pus filled scrape underneath.

Bonnie clenched her teeth together, sucking her breath in on a hiss.

He silently set her foot on the coffee table beside him, and flashed into the bedroom and was back with a damp washcloth and a glass of water before she could even wonder where he'd gone.

"What are you doing?" she asked, accepting the water and watching him take a brown bottle out of a plastic bag on the table next to him.

"Curing cancer, what's it look like," his tone was both amused and sarcastic, just the way she remembered it best. It made her smile a little too, though she tried to hide it.

Damon glanced up when he heard her try to cover a chuckle with a cough. He smirked at the face she was making, biting the inside of her lip to hide that small smile that he loved so much.

He cleaned her wound off and after applying an ample amount of Neosporin he covered it with another big Hello-Kitty band-aid, smoothing the edges down with his thumbs, letting his large hands linger on her leg, brushing the skin on the back of her knee.

It made her shiver and caused a heated tingling south of her stomach.

Slowly she pulled her leg out of his hands and across his lap, but he caught her ankle before she could escape entirely.

"Damon," she warned.

"Wait," he scolded her.

Bonnie gave him her patented 'excuse me?' look. Not that he cared one bit.

"Oh, calm down, Judgey, I'm not done. Relax will you."

"Me relax? Fat chance," but Bonnie leaned back into the soft leather couch anyway.

Damon dabbed the washcloth at the red blisters on the side of Bonnie's feet. He knew for a fact that the witch hated wearing heels because they did this exact thing to her otherwise immaculate toes.

"Why do women this to themselves? No, better yet, why would _you_ do this to _your_ self?"

"Oh, I don't know, probably the same reason you wear a motorcycle jacket but don't actually ride one," Bonnie answered, her eyes drifting closed as Damon took care of her feet.

"Which is?" Damon pressed.

"Because you look hot in it." She peeked up through her eyelashes to catch his reaction to that. He looked pleased, flattered even.

Bonnie just rolled her eyes. It was starting to give her more of headache, she needed to quit that.

"Okay, but my leather jackets don't give me bloody blisters, though."

"What can I say, Damon. Beauty is painful," Bonnie stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh please, if you can wake up like that after a night like we had, then it clearly doesn't have to be, you just make it so."

"The male driven, misogynist, Eurocentric fashion industry makes it so, drilling into our minds from age two that there is a certain standard for beauty and if you don't measure up, you are a failure. And ugly," Bonnie ranted through a yawn.

"And last night I fell for it."

"And had fun doing it," he countered.

"And ended up practically crippled."

"But you looked hot doing it."

Bonnie's eyes opened at that remark.

He was trying to compliment her and the witch was picking a fight. Well, he had that effect on people.

His gaze held her eyes for a very long moment. He tried to convey an apology with them, but from the look on Bonnie's face nonverbal, compliments, and kind gestures just weren't going to cut it.

"Bonnie, I-," he started, but Bonnie held her palm out interrupting him.

"I don't want hear it, Damon, not now" she told him. "But you can finish the foot rub."

"Fine, Bossy," he said with an eye roll of his own.

"Animal."

And so he sat there rubbing her feet, massaging her sore toes, he in his towel and her in his shirt, as the young witch fell back asleep.

* * *

 **Author Note: Hello loves! So, this is my first fanfic story ever, and I am having a ball writing it, your reviews give me life, I love it. The next chapter is coming soon. I've just got so much to say about these characters and what they might have been through together. I just wondered if it would subtract from this storyline if I write 1994 flashbacks into it, or should I just start a new story. Curious what you think. Drop a comment.**

 **-T**


	7. Chapter 7: I Did What?

I Did What?

"Okay, let's hear it," Bonnie demanded.

They were at a restaurant in the city ordering a late lunch.

"Come on, Care, tell me exactly what happened last night."

"Well, what exactly do you remember?" Caroline winced at the thought of explaining her friend's exploits.

"I remember being at the club in Brooklyn and dancing with that guy- What's his name?"

"Damien!" They all said in union with a collective eye roll.

"Whoa, what was that about?" Bonnie asked, eyes wide.

Stefan decided to field this question.

"Well, Damon couldn't seem to recall your friends name or rather refused to say it correctly. After we left Damien at the club-"

"And after you puked up your dinner and about half a gallon of liquor into the gutter," Damon interrupted, throwing a 'told you so' smirk at Caroline.

"After you were feeling a bit better," Stefan continued, ignoring his brother, "you wanted to know what happened to 'Mr. Perfect'. In fact, you wouldn't stop talking about him."

"Damien, Damien, Damien," the older vampire brother drawled out in an imitation falsetto.

"In her defense, he was a really nice guy," Caroline chimed in, "and hot, too."

"Well, what did happen to him? He just left? I thought we connected…" Bonnie was slightly disappointed. Her hand rose to her neck, where the unexplained bruises were covered by the high collar of her jacket.

"Damon here told him to get lost," Caroline ratted.

"Okay, it was that or let him drag your drunk ass somewhere to chop you into itty bitty witchy pieces. Couldn't have that, now could we," Damon defended himself.

Their waiter chose that moment to return to their table with their food.

"Thanks," Bonnie said to her.

"Is there _anything_ else I can get for you?" she was flirting with Damon, hard.

Bonnie gave Caroline a look, like _I can't take this guy anywhere._ Caroline agreed with an eye roll.

"This looks good, Darlin', thank you." Damon said, and he grabbed the woman's wrist before letting her get back to work.

Bonnie dug into her pasta, choosing to ignore the creepy moment.

"Okay," she swallowed the hot food, hearing it thunk into her empty belly. "Well, who wants to explain my Hello-Kitty accessories?"

"Easy: you thought the Ninja Turtles were for boys," Damon informed, helpful as always.

"Ugh, would you shut up," Caroline told him. "You had a fall. Damon was carrying you out of the club-"

"Who ever said chivalry was dead?" Damon interrupted yet again, earning him a swift kick under the table.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Let her talk," Bonnie warned. Damon held his hands up in surrender.

"Anyway, he carried you out of the club and you got all the way to the street before you demanded he put you down, and when he didn't do it immediately, you set his pants on fire!" Caroline wasn't even trying to hide her amusement.

"Thanks for the sympathy there blondie."

"Whaaat!" Bonnie was shocked and amused. "I set you on fire?" There was no apology at all in her tone, just disbelief.

"Yeah, well, needless to say I dropped your ass," Damon smiled right back at her.

"And that's when you were sick all over the sidewalk." Stefan added.

"And the bouncer more or less politely asked us to get the hell from in front of the building." Care finished.

"Wow. Yeah, that's pretty bad." Bonnie was shaking her head when she caught the look the three immortals were sharing between them.

"What?"

Silence.

"There's more?"

Nods.

"What happened?"

"Well. We left the club, and were headed to the city. To the hotel." Stefan started, grinning at some inside joke he wasn't sharing.

"And?"

"And the ride was fine, you were basically asleep again, when-"

"When someone, Damon, goes ' _you wanna see something funny,"_ Care's impression of him was spot on, evil grin, eyebrow wiggle, and everything. "And then he plugs his phone in and plays your song."

"What song?" Bonnie asked, but she had a feeling she knew, and if it's the song she thought it was, then she had a good idea what happened next.

"Waterfalls," Damon answered, evil grin front and center, plastered on his smug face.

"You didn't," Bonnie gasped.

"That's when FunBon made her appearance," Stefan was still failing at trying to fight a smile.

"Oh, god. Did I do the whole song?" Bonnie was flushed with embarrassment.

Waterfalls and TLC's entire CrazySexyCool album was one of her favorites and when they were together in 1994 she often performed it for Damon when she was inebriated.

"Bonnie, it was awesome though. Like, one minute you were sleeping with your head in my lap, granted you were still trying to have a conversation, and then that song started and…" Care just shook her head, words failing her for once.

"It's like you were a different person," Stefan filled in. "I've never seen that Bonnie before. Or those moves…" he bounced his shoulders up and down, laughing at her.

Bonnie just put her face in her hands. She knew she turned into an entertainer when she was drunk enough; Damon had caught the transformation on video before.

 _Dammit Damon!_

"I can't believe you did that! You know I love that song," she smacked him in the arm with the back of her hand. "You knew what would happen!"

"Babe, even I didn't see what happened next coming." Damon laughed with his brother.

"Nooo, what happened?" Bonnie could only imagine.

"When you came back down from the moonroof and serenading the city, you decided we needed to do Karaoke," said Stefan.

"And me, being the drama major that I am, agreed whole heartedly," Care told her. "So we had the driver take us to a karaoke bar, only by this time it was like almost five in the morning and they were closing."

"Not that it stopped you from barging in and demanding a microphone and a, quote, 'maestro'. Impressive, by the way. Remind me to never ever get between you and a stage," teased Stefan.

"I convinced the bar-back to let us perform a few songs. And do you wanna guess what song you did?" They were all grinning at her now. She picked up her fork and twirled it in her half eaten plate, no longer hungry.

"No," she said quietly. She had no idea what song she had chosen, trashed as she was last night. She just hoped it wasn't anything Pussycat Dolls.

"Respect," answered Damon, "Aretha Franklin."

"Oh, that's not that bad. I love that song."

"We know!" they sang in unison again.

"You wanna see it?" Damon was having way too much fun at her expense.

"You recorded it?" Why was she even surprised?

"You made me record it! You said you were going to become YouTube famous. It's already got 520 views."

"What the hell, Damon, you actually posted it?!" she snatched his phone from him, trying to lower her voice, half the restaurant was watching them.

She pressed play as Damon excused himself from the table.

"I'll be right back," he told her and then disappeared through a door she was sure was the kitchen.

But she couldn't focus on him, the music was starting and Stefan and Caroline leaned in to watch with her.

She saw herself at center stage, swaying back and forth behind a microphone with Caroline to her left singing backup.

"Aw, you sang backup for me?" Bonnie was touched. It was usually the other way around, with Caroline as the center of attention.

"Of course, what kind of bestie would I be if I didn't?"

Bonnie looked back to the phone video and watched herself move down the front steps, off the stage and into the empty audience where Damon was whooping and cheering her on.

The Bonnie in the video was singing and dancing her way to him, and before she knew it she was watching herself straddle Damon's lap, singing _"I'm about to give you all my money, all I'm askin' in return honey…"_ Video Bonnie grinded on the stunned vampire and then put her mouth on his! She kissed Damon! Tongue and all!

The video went black for a second, Damon had dropped the phone, but it was back in the next moment and focused on the two in the chair.

"Ohhhhhh! Bonnie noooo!" Stefan yelled in the video. Sober Bonnie just looked at him, mouth hanging open.

Video Bonnie finished her kiss with the bad boy Salvatore just in time to pick up the next verse:

" _Ooooo your kiss is… sweeter than honey…"_ Bonnie dismounted Damon's lap and finished her song, hips rocking and gyrating more than Aretha had probably ever intended, and she only fell down twice. _Wasted._

The video ended with Stefan's voice shouting in the background "Yeeeaaaahhhhhhhh!"

"Oh. My. Lord. Oh my god. Shit, are you telling me this video is on the freakin' internet?" Bonnie's eyes were so wide she thought they may pop.

"Calm down, Judgey," Damon said, sliding back into his seat beside the mortified witch. "It was fun, and I only feel the tiniest bit used. I mean, you even got Mr. Hero Hair to do one."

"Really?" Bonnie asked, distracted from Damon's sudden reappearance and the toothpick hanging from his lips, by the notion of Stefan doing anything so crazy as karaoke.

"Yep. He sang _Sweet Child O' Mine,"_ Care bragged. She clearly enjoyed the performance.

"Aww, Stefan, that's so sweet!" Bonnie gushed. "Where's the video of that?" she started to scroll through Damon's phone looking for it, but he snatched it back from her.

"You don't want to see it, trust me on this one. Courtney Love here went total groupie halfway through the track and well. Dot dot dot." He left the rest to her imagination, but from the bashful, lovey dovey looks they were giving each other now, she could guess how the song ended.

"Oh. Ew. Okay." Bonnie let it go.

"Well, as bad as giving Damon a lap dance is, that doesn't sound too awful. Nothing I can't live down, right?" Bonnie tried to reassure herself.

"Sure."

"Right."

"We should probably hit the road." Damon suggested, retrieving his wallet from his back pocket and leaving a generous tip on the table for a waitress that never even came back to check on them. "I already took care of the bill."

He stood and waited for Bonnie to follow suit.

"Ookay, fine." She knew there was something the three of them were keeping from her, but if it was so bad they didn't want to say it in front of the group, she wasn't going press it. Not right there anyway.

"Let me just hit the Ladies before we go. Care?" she caught her friend by the elbow and dragged her away.

Once they were in the bathroom, away from the boys, Bonnie quickly turned on Caroline.

"Alright, Care, that's obviously not the entire story. What else?"

Caroline fidgeted in front of the mirror. "There's not much left Bonnie. I mean, you passed out at the bar, we left, stopped for Band-aids and supplies and finally checked in at the hotel- which was gorgeous, right? I mean did you see that view? I read that Princess Diana stayed in that same suite before they remodeled-," Caroline broke off at the look she was getting from Bonnie.

"But you don't care about that, okay. Um, we got to the hotel. Damon hauled you inside. You freaked out in the elevator, demanded he put you down because you could walk. And when we got into the suite, me and Stefan crashed and you and Damon stayed up…" she paused, chewing the inside of her lip.

"Spit it out Care, you're scaring me," Bonnie had been holding her breath waiting for whatever was so hard to say.

"About an hour after that, you stormed into our room, half dressed, saying you refused to stay in the same room with that asshole."

"That's it?"

"That's all I got."

"But what happened between me and Damon?"

"Well, Bon, I don't know exactly, but…." Care reached out and pulled down the collar of her friend's jacket, revealing the fading purple bruises there, "I can guess."


	8. Chapter 8: About Last Night pt 1

About Last Night

Blondie dumped the wasted Bonnie on the couch before she and Stefan headed to bed.

Stefan departed with a stern yet vague "Be good", while Caroline threatened to rip off his dick, barbeque it, and serve it to him on a bun if he did anything to Bonnie while she was passed out.

"I'm just in the next room, Damon and so help me, if I hear one muffled scream…" she warned.

"Oh my god. I'm so scared right now," Damon just plopped down at the end of the sofa and kicked his feet up on the low coffee table.

"We'll be fine, Mom" Bonnie said into the cushions where she lay.

So, she was awake after all! Damon smiled to himself. He should have known it. The little witch had a habit of pretending to be asleep when she was drunk; she'd lay there quietly, eyes shut, listening to everything and then use it against him later.

Although, this was likely one of those nights she'd block from her memory. It didn't happen often, but on two occasions that he knew of Bonnie had woken up with no recollection of what had occurred after she'd passed out.

Damon just figured it was a witchy thing.

The first time it happened was in the 1994 hell dimension, or prison world, whichever.

They'd been there for about five weeks and they'd developed a routine: Damon made breakfast, Bonnie did the dishes and the crossword. She'd try practicing her magic, he'd research spells for her to work on. He'd bitch about her being a sorry excuse for a witch and she'd threaten to move to the other side of the country and find a way out of this hell on her own and leave his ass behind with all his stupid fang-faced pancakes.

And then they spent the evening together, drinking and talking about everyone they knew.

This particular night was a hard one, the whole day was. It was Caroline's birthday, and Bonnie was stuck celebrating it with her second least favorite person on the planet. (They'd already determined that Katherine Pierce was number one, although Bonnie argued that because she was dead and gone she should be removed from the list, but Damon said, no what she did still counts, even if she's not around.)

Bonnie took the afternoon off from studying and practicing to celebrate. And since Damon had made a habit of following her everywhere, he tagged along. (Truth be told he was slightly worried she'd either run off and get hurt or stumble into an invisible portal and escape their hell world without him.)

Their first stop was the liquor store. Even in 1994, the Salvatores pretty much only kept bourbon, whisky, and scotch in the boarding house and that simply wouldn't do for a Caroline Forbes party.

They left the store with bags of vodka, rum, tequila, triple sec – the girliest liqueur ever in Damon's opinion- mixers, and of course, extra bourbon. They loaded their wares into the stolen ("repurposed" says Bonnie) Lexus and headed for the grocery store.

Together they picked out an acceptable cake and Bonnie decorated it in the bakery. They hit the ice cream aisle and, surprisingly, didn't argue for once- they both chose strawberry.

Damon put the kibosh on the party cups, claiming "I am not drinking an adult beverage out of a kiddie cup, Bonnie!" Not that it stopped her. "Then don't drink, Damon," was her solution to that problem.

By the time they made it back to the boarding house, the sun was going down.

Damon helped Bonnie set up everything on the back porch- the cake, the drinks, the DJ table (i.e. boombox and CDs), and the presents.

They were ready to party. Except for one thing:

"Okay, where are the candles?" Bonnie asked him.

"I don't know, we didn't get any," Damon was so busy going through the CDs that Bonnie had pulled together _(she really has the worst taste in music, I mean come on)_ that he didn't see her freeze.

"Shut up, of course I got them, they were on the list," Bonnie was searching through all the party stuff Damon had dumped on the table. "I know I got them. They've gotta be here somewhere." She was trashing the table, turning everything upside down, looking for the candles.

"Seriously, Bonnie! We didn't get any candles." Damon stopped her, grabbing her arms, tightening his grip when she fought to free herself.

"But- but-" Damon watched as a fat tear escaped her eye, quickly followed by another. "How? How did I forget them? Caroline would never have forgotten candles, it's basic Birthday Party 101. How can we have a-a p-p-party with no candles?"

Then she was sobbing. Bonnie was standing there, bawling, no holds barred, damn near choking, shoulders shaking, losing it, blubbery tears.

Over birthday candles.

Damon didn't know quite what to do. He and the witch weren't close, they weren't friends.

But in that moment he managed to do what Elena would've wanted: he pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried.

"We're never going to get out of here. We're never going to see any of them ever again, Damon! I can't do it! I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't…." she collapsed against him, tears soaked the front of his shirt as her slender fingers clung to the back of it, searching for something, anything, to hold on to, to anchor herself in her sudden storm of grief.

Damon just rode it out. He stood there stroking her hair, rubbing her back and doing his best to comfort her with whatever he could think of.

"It's okay, Bonnie. Just let it out. You're alright. We're gonna find a way, trust me. It's okay."

He didn't believe what he was telling her. Damon Salvatore was a pessimist. But seeing Bonnie- the fiery, strong, amazing witch descended of the most powerful witches that ever lived, that Bonnie- seeing her broken… well, it hurt him. His chest ached and he was having trouble breathing. It wasn't until his vision blurred and he felt the tears fall down his face that he understood.

So Damon stood there holding a crying Bonnie in his arms, rocking side to side and trying to quietly catch his breath.

Soon, their tears ended and they continued to rock for a moment, listening to each other's breathing and running noses and heartbeats and…

Bonnie pulled back first, wiping away the last of her tears with her fingertips. Damon cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair trying to discreetly dry his eyes. Bonnie avoided looking at him, but he couldn't turn away, she just looked so broken. Temporarily held together by a show of friendship on his part, but ultimately broken.

She chewed her bottom lip for a second before turning to peer up at him.

"Let's drink."

Damon remembered that night perfectly. He remembered that they blew through the punch Damon had prepared for the party. He remembered Bonnie dancing with him to songs that were older than her. He remembered Bonnie smashing everything breakable in the library with an antique sword that had belong to an uncle of his. He remembered chasing her through the house after she kidnapped the bourbon and said _he_ was the one cut off, not her.

He remembered watching a flood of red punch pour out of her mouth when she threw up over the porch rail as he held her hair out of the way, patting her back and coaching "Atta girl, Witchy, get it all up, you'll feel all better".

And of course, he remembered finding her asleep on the stairs in her underwear, wrapped in an afghan, after he went to find something not covered in puke for her to put on.

He scooped her up, ignoring her protests and the weak punches she gave his chest. Damon cradled her close and carried her up to the room she'd been sleeping in. Careful not to wake her, he tucked her under the covers and turned out the lamp on the table beside her.

He was about to go but was stopped by Bonnie's hands clinging to his shirt. She pulled herself up, swaying like crazy, with her eyes half closed.

"Don't leave me! Please, don't leave me alone," she begged.

"Okay, okay Bon, I'm not going anywhere. See," he sat beside her in the bed and rested his back against the headboard.

Bonnie laid her head on his chest and hugged herself to him, falling asleep instantly.


	9. Chapter 9 About Last Night pt 2

About Last Night Pt. 2

Damon woke up the morning after Brooklyn, alone in a hotel bed. He heard Stefan and Caroline in the other room explaining that no sex was had last night.

Damon chuckled at that. They had no idea how close him and Bonnie had gotten though.

….

After the love birds retreated to their room, Damon attempted to get Bonnie settled in for the night. He went to pick her up off the couch, but she fought him off and jumped away from him.

"Don't, Damon. Don't you touch me, I can do it myself," she said pushing to her feet, her eyes still closed.

"What the hell is your problem, Bennett? Why can't you just let me help you?

All night long, she'd been avoiding him, shit she'd set him on fire just to get him to put her down.

She wasn't usually so reluctant to be near him. In fact, in the last few months it was just the opposite: they'd shared more contact than ever before and Damon was beginning to enjoy it, too much, and he knew she was too. That's why he was always the one limiting the casual touching. Not because he wanted to, but he had to. Their fight two weeks ago proved it.

"You're still pissed at me, aren't you?" he guessed. He thought their reunion tonight had fixed things. They were almost like old times again, being snarky and trying to one up each other. Besides, she'd made out with him at a karaoke bar, and that had to count for something, right?

"Oh, no, I'm just peachy, thanks for asking," Bonnie answered, heavy on the sarcasm.

She was headed for the other room when she stumbled into an armchair. Damon was immediately there, catching her before she hit the ground. But again she pushed him off.

"Will you stop touching me?! Just stop trying to save me!" she was glaring up at him, and he knew she meant what she was saying. She wasn't just throwing a drunken fit this time.

"I'm your friend, Bon. I can't just stop being there for you. No matter what happened."

Bonnie sat on the arm of the chair and bent over to unzip one of her hooker boots.

"That's all well and good, Damon, be my friend, be there for me. But don't you dare act like nothing happened." She kicked her foot out of her shoe and unzipped the other one. "Like what I told you didn't matter, like my feelings for you don't matter. You do not get to pretend that we are fine, we are not fine." Bonnie had her boot in her hand and was pointing it at Damon like a weapon.

Damon had no excuses to give her. He could only take the lashing out that he was getting.

"I told you I loved you and you patted me on my head and sent me on my way like some loyal puppy dog. And then you don't even talk to me for weeks. Completely cut me out of your life." She was advancing on him now and out of self-preservation Damon stayed out of her arms reach. He knew exactly how dangerous an angry Bennett could get.

"And now you wanna be friends again? You really think I'm gonna just let you hurt me again? Because that's all you do Damon! You hurt everyone around you! God, you're like the freaking poster boy for Misery Loves Company!" She was in her groove now, letting him have it. "Well, Damon, if we really are friends like I thought we were friends, you don't get to hurt me like that. You don't get to push me away with zero explanation. That's not how it works you jackass!"

"Okay!" Damon had to stop her before something caught fire, namely him. "I am sorry, Bonnie. Of course I'm sorry. You are the last person on the planet that I ever wanted to treat like that. But I had to." All the excuses he'd come up with to say to her, to apologize came back to him. Now was his chance.

"I'm not human, Bonnie" he explained to her. "I'm not ever going to be good. Not good enough for you."

"Well, duh, Dumbass, do you think I don't know that?" she scoffed.

 _Shit._ He was expecting more of an argument to his opening statement.

"I don't think you do, or we wouldn't be having this conversation." He not-so-gently pulled the stiletto from her hand where it was still pointed at his chest.

Damon watched the huff and puff leave the girl as she sat down on the coffee table and looked up at him.

"Believe me, I know you're not human. I know it. I've seen it, Damon. I have witnessed you at your darkest self."

"You haven't," he chuckled humorlessly, "not even close."

She sat still, considering his words, her eyes shut as she thought about it.

"I know what you are," she told him. "But more than that, I know _who_ you are, Damon. Whether you like it or not, I've see you at your best, I've seen the good you are capable of, I've watched you don the hero hair and go to war for the people you care about. That's not a bad thing. Why can't you see that?"

"All I see, Bonnie," he crouched down in front of her, so she could look at him, hear him, without hurting her neck. "All I see is you. It's all you. And if hurting your feelings once keeps you alive in the long run…. I had to."

Her eyes were slipping in and out of focus, he knew she was tired and this wasn't a good time for this conversation. He'd happily table it for a later day.

She leaned her forehead forward and Damon caught it was a kiss.

"You know I love you, BonBon," he told her, naturally, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, to be in love with your best friend.

"Yeah, I know. It's just nice to hear, you idiot."

For all his vampire speed and his years of experience and wisdom, he just didn't see it coming. It caught him off guard.

He still had his lips pressed to her forehead when she tilted her head back and stretch up to land a gentle kiss on his surprised mouth. She had her hands viced around his biceps, holding him there long enough to get what she wanted.

Bonnie leaned into him, urging his mouth open with her tender lips, inviting him in with her tongue.

Damon felt as though he were burning alive. A slow delicious burn that both fried and soothed his nerves. Resistance wasn't even an option.

She bit down on his lower lip hungrily and he groaned, pushing her back on the table. She spread her legs, making room for him to come closer as he wrapped an arm around her waist, with his other hand twisting in the hair at the base of her neck.

Her arms and legs were curled around him, refusing to let him go anywhere as she came up for air, her breathing ragged and her chest rising high with each breath she took.

Knowing the human witch needed oxygen, Damon redirected his lips to her shoulders and chest where he kissed every inch of skin he could reach in the meantime.

But Bonnie was ready for him. She pulled his face back to hers and kissed him like she was trying to suck out his soul. She kissed him like he was her deliverance, like nothing else mattered in the world except him. She kissed him like he was just a man, nothing more.

And in that moment, that's all Damon was. A man. A man with the most amazing woman he had ever met wrapped around him and kissing him like the rotation of the earth depended on it.

When she let go of his face he pulled back to see her, but she still had her legs wrapped around his waist. She leaned back and with one smooth motion pulled her top off over her head, dumped it on the floor behind them, and was pulling him to her again.

Damon was weak enough to let her. He wanted her, bad. Had wanted this exact scenario for some time and he didn't know how to stop it. She was a force around him, he could smell the arousal pouring from her, and all he could do was give in to it.

His hands traced from her shoulders down her back to her narrow waist before he fitted them in the crook of her knees and he hitched them even higher before he rocked back on his heels and stood up, pulling Bonnie with him, not once even breaking their kiss.

She gasped at the change in altitude, holding tight to him, afraid at any moment he would let her go.

But Damon simply pressed her back against a wall so he could free his hands and pull his shirt up over his head before consuming the witch again.

He was being reckless, his lips at her throat, when she moaned out loud and sucked her breath in a hiss. He'd hit a hot spot. Bonnie's fingers dug into the flesh of his shoulder and she bit him back, sucking hard on his neck, her lips running up and down and driving him out of his senses.

She pushed back against the wall and dropped her feet to the floor, her skirt bunched around her stomach as she kissed her way down his chest to his navel. She knelt in front of him and fumbled with his belt, but before she could get to her prize, Damon pulled her back to her feet and spun her around.

He pressed himself into her back and easily found the zipper of her skirt and eased the fabric down her thighs until it hit the floor. As it revealed her curvy ass in a lacey black thong, Damon sank to his knees and ran his fingertips along the tantalizing curves that had beckoned to him daily for the last 5 years.

Bonnie tried to turn to face him, but he held her still. He needed a minute to give his attention to her backside, to run his tongue along those cheeks, and squeeze and commit to memory the feel of his face pressed against them. Before he could peel off her panties and enjoy the source of her juices, he turned her around so she could watch.

Her hazel eyes were half closed as her hands caressed his shoulders, and ran through his dark hair.

She bit her lip hard as Damon tasted the skin of her bellybutton. Her knees shook as his tongue traced the lines of her hip bones, as he buried his kisses there.

"Yes," she whimpered as he pushed her legs apart and nibbled his way into her inner thigh. She hmmed and ahhhed as he kissed the damp fabric of her underwear, legs shaking and threatening to give out, but Damon was there, saving her again, catching her, pulling her leg over his shoulder and holding her waist so she couldn't fall as he worked magic on her. His tongue circled around her wet opening several times before Bonnie grabbed his hair and yanked his head back.

"Eat it," she growled.

"Oooh, Bossy." Damon grinned and did as he was told, pushing her panties to the side and thrusting his tongue into her wet pussy, sucking down every drop of lust she had for him. He hit every corner his tongue could reach and then pushed her leg apart wider so he could go deeper.

"Ah!," Bonnie gasped, arching her back off the wall, bracing with her shoulders she threw her other leg over his shoulder letting Damon hold her up by her ass as she grinded her way to ecstasy.

Damon's tongue circled her swollen clit, he was setting her on fire, all she could feel was heat and he licked away at her like she was a melting ice cream cone. Her legs kicking as she bucked wildly, losing her balance and almost falling off his face.

Damon crawled backwards, letting Bonnie slide down the wall, then pulled her so she was laying on her back, never once moving his face from between her legs. She could barely believe how long he'd been down there, then remembered he didn't technically need to breathe.

Damon slid two fingers into her as Bonnie pressed her hips forwards.

"Oh, god yes! Yes!"

Damon wanted to watch her come, wanted to see her face twist in a snarl as he thrusted his fingers in and out and she grinded on his hand, rubbing her clit against the heel of his palm. He watched her eyes shut tight and felt her body tighten. Her thighs squeezed him tighter and he fingered her faster listening to her panting breaths and moans. She got louder the closer she got to her orgasm. Damon put a hand over her mouth and moved his hips in time with hers, his dick hard as hell and dying to be free but this wasn't about him tonight. The only thing he needed was to feel her cum, to make her cum.

Bonnie squeezed her thighs tight around his right hand, as she bit down on his left. His fingering sped up and reached deeper, she grinded harder, and convulsed out of control, toes curled, and eyes rolling. Damon felt her explode, her creamy sweat nectar streaming down his hand.

"Fuck," she said, breathless when he finally removed his hand from her mouth.

"Hmm. I would love to honey, but not tonight."

"MmKay." Bonnie murmured, not moving, still numb in a post orgasm haze. Her thighs were still clenched around his wrist, his fingers trapped inside her, keeping him a willing prisoner.

He chuckled low in her ear.

"I need my hand back."

"In a minute," she sighed. She was falling asleep.

Damon just grinned and buried his face in her neck and she lazily, like she could barely lift her arms wrapped them around Damon's neck. He slid his fingers from inside of her and placed them under her knees. He lifted her effortlessly and carried her to their bedroom.


	10. Chapter 10: What Now?

What now?

"So."

Stefan leaned back against the side of the blue Camaro, next to his brother, crossing his arms and legs. The girls were in the restroom of the restaurant where they'd just finished lunch.

"So, what?" Damon raised an eyebrow, already in defensive mode.

Stefan just looked at him for a couple moments.

"What's with the look brother? If you have something to say, I suggest you say it." Damon rolled the toothpick back and forth in his mouth.

"You're really not gonna tell me what happened between you and Bonnie last night?"

"There's nothing to tell, Stefan. Nothing happened."

"Well, I think we both know that's a lie."

"Do we, though?" Damon cocked his head to the side, avoiding eye contact with his nosey brother.

"Oh come on, Damon. Bonnie didn't climb in the bed between me and Care for no reason. I mean something must have happened."

"Look, if you're asking whether or not we had sex, the answer is no. You happy?"

"Well, that's not what I was asking, but it's good to know, and yeah I am happy about it."

"Why?" Damon pushed off the car and turned to face Stefan. "You don't think me and Bonnie could work?

"Do you think you and Bonnie could work?"

"Don't do that, that wannabe psycho-analyzing, answer a question with a question crap, okay. Just be straight with me. Do you think me and Bonnie could work?"

Stefan didn't answer right away and instead looked away from him and back to the windows of the restaurant. Through them he saw their server and the scarf she was now wearing around her neck. He chuckled once, finding no humor in the mutilation of humans.

"How was the waitress? Tasty, I hope."

"And here we go, Mr. High and Mighty's gonna lecture me on my diet." Damon was now pacing on the busy sidewalk in front of the car.

Stefan cut him off before he could get too wound up.

"I'm not going to lecture you about anything, in fact I was going to applaud you for your discretion."

"Oh," Damon stopped in his tracks. "That's a first."

"I know. Shocked the hell outta me too."

"Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't raised in a barn. I do know how to behave."

"Coulda fooled me."

Damon let him have that one; it's not like he was wrong. But he was still waiting on an answer.

"So you're just gonna ignore my question?"

"You're ignoring mine."

"Hugh," Damon sighed out loud, resuming his position against the car. "It doesn't matter what happened if I'm the only one who can remember it. It may as well have been a dream."

He wanted to tell his brother about it. Hell, he wanted to give him the play by play, the stop clock breakdown, the critical analysis of his secret, brief, moment with Bonnie. That incredible moment they'd shared, that he couldn't stop thinking about, couldn't wait to do again. And again and again.

Being near Bonnie and not being able to hold her like he did before was killing him. His skin ached to touch her. His muscles were exhausted from fighting himself, from restraining his hands from re-exploring the sensitive areas he'd found the previous night. He felt like a junkie coming down from his high with no hope of returning.

But Damon also felt like a prick. The prickiest of pricks. He knew she was gonna block out the night and he'd done things to her anyway. Yes, she had instigated their encounter, but she was drunk. He should've stopped it. Plain and simple. But he didn't. And as if that wasn't enough, he'd left behind the evidence of his work on her neck. At the time he had just been glad he hadn't bit her and drank from her- that much restraint he could manage. But now, he would have to explain what happened to her…

"So, what are you gonna tell her when she asks you about it?" Stefan said, reading his mind.

"I don't know, that a doppelganger stole her body?"

"You're going to lie her? That's a great way to jumpstart things."

"Well, Einstein, you got a better idea?"

"Oh, I don't know," Stefan shrugged, "how about the truth?"

"Serious suggestions only Stefan."

"If you want to be with her don't hide the truth from her," Stefan sounded like he was talking to a five year old. "Look, you and Bonnie have been through a lot. You've certainly come a long way from where you started, you know with you trying to kill her and her-"

"Setting me on fire? Yeah, well some things never change."

"But some things do change. I mean, we both know how time flies for the living dead. I say, don't waste the time you have. Go for it. What's the worst that could happen?

"Are you kidding me? Why would you say that, those are like famous last words! The worst that could happen, well let's see: I could accidently kill her, rip her head off. Some insane she-vamp from my past could attack her, rip her head off. Ah, she could get herself killed trying to protect me, and then I'd have to rip someone's head off, are you seeing the pattern here?"

"Okay, wait a minute Mr. Doom & Gloom, this is Bonnie we're talking about, right. Bonnie Bennett, she's like the hardest person to kill that I've ever met. Totally resilient. She doesn't need you to protect her, you don't have to be a hero for her."

"Well, that's just great, Stefan, thanks for the pep talk." Damon was back to pacing.

"You're not understanding me, brother. She doesn't need a hero. Hero worship fades, it burns out, it's hard to maintain. But you and Bonnie? I can see you two being partners, like equals. As many times as she's saved your hide? Yeah, I can see you two saving each other."

Damon stopped his pacing just as Bonnie and Caroline exited the building.

"Why, Dr. Phil, that may have actually been helpful," he held the car door open for the girls and Bonnie climbed in first without a word. Caroline and Stefan were having a moment so Damon left them to it, and walked around the front of the car and got in the driver's seat.

He looked at bonnie in the rearview, but she was looking out her window.

"You okay back there?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to say something, but something else stopped her. She watched him in the mirror and for a second their eyes met and he could read the worry in them.

"Bon?" he asked, turning in his seat to look at her. He listened to her heart racing away and watched as her face flushed pink under her praline skin and her teeth caught her lower lip.

He saw it in her eyes that whatever she was thinking or wanted to say could tip the balance of their tenuous situation. This was it. That moment of truth.

"Look, Damon, I-" she began, but before she could get her thoughts out Caroline climbed into the backseat beside her friend.

"My phone says we'll make it back by like 9:30 tonight. That's not too bad, considering the traffic up here."

Damon looked at Caroline a moment before his irritation turned the look into a glare. His eyes shifted back to Bonnie who also seemed to realize they'd missed their opportunity to talk. She did manage to give him a small smile though.

"Well, Maestro, what are we listening to?"


	11. Chapter 11: Just Friends

**Hello friends, quick note: I hope that all of you like reading this. I love the review the story gets, so if you keep them coming I'll keep the story coming. I really want to know about your reactions to this chapter... I'm having way too much fun with Bonnie right now, so let me know how you feel about it, please!**

Just Friends?

The ride home from New York was ultimately uneventful. It was filled with awkward silence punctuated by Caroline and Stefan repeatedly attempting to start a conversation and failing each time.

The tension between Bonnie and Damon was beyond noticeable, it was unbearable. And it was only made more unbearable by the fact that both Bonnie and Damon were pretending it wasn't happening.

The fake smiles and polite banter back and forth was getting on Bonnie's nerves. She had no idea how to be herself with Damon since Caroline's revelation about the night before. Bonnie figured it had to be Damon who went cave man and marked his territory all over her neck. She couldn't believe she'd let him do that, couldn't believe that she didn't remember it happening. Could not believe she wished she remembered it more than she wished that it hadn't happened in the first place.

She knew she should've been furious with herself, but couldn't work up the outrage. If she had been sober, she knew she would have enjoyed getting those hickies (She hated having them of course! She felt like she had a neon sign pointed at her screaming KINKY! But, those were scars well worth the battle)

However, she was rightly pissed at Damon for doing anything with her when her alter-ego FunBon was running loose. She just wasn't herself when she drank with Damon. _God, I hope I'm not developing some kind of problem with alcohol…That would suck._

And Damon knew she got a little wild when she was wasted, and for him to take advantage of that was inexcusable.

 _Let's be real now, Bonnie, you know you wanted it…_ some dark part of her thought. _You know you liked it._

 _Ew, that's not even the point, the point is that I do not remember giving consent,_ she argued with herself.

"Bonnie!"

"Yeah? What? What'd I miss?" she jerked upright.

"You're home, Sleeping Beauty," Damon was standing outside of the car. It was dark out, but Bonnie could see the front of the dormitory through the window.

"Hm, how long was I asleep?" she asked as she climbed out of the driver door (why they ever let him drive for the roadtrips was a mystery to her).

"Just the last hour or two. Or three. Who knows?" Damon held his hand out to her and to his surprise she actually took it and let him help her out the car.

"You feel okay?" he asked, giving her a worried once over.

"Thanks, I know I must look like roadkill. I didn't drool did I?" she grimaced, wiping her chin and trying to pat her hair back into place.

"Only enough to fill a small pool…" he teased.

"What happened to Care and Stefan?" she wondered as they made their way into the dorm.

"I dropped them off at the boarding house first."

 _Wow. So, Care ditched me for her boyfriend. Again,_ thought Bonnie.

"Oh. Okay. Guess I'm on my own tonight," she said to herself.

"Well, I mean, I'm here, we could hang. I saw a poster about a party at the Pi Chi house…," Damon suggested, nudging Bonnie with his elbow.

"Yeah, no. I'm not really in the mood to party."

"Oh, come on Bon, we'll go have a few drinks, wink wink. It'll be fun." They were at her room now and Bonnie unlocked the door.

"I said no, Damon," she finally turned to look at him, blocking his entry into her room. "And no matter what I said or did last night, you should've said no too." She could barely look at him, she was so embarrassed. No, she what she felt was betrayed.

"I know that, Bonnie, I'm sorry. I screwed up."

"Then why didn't you stop?" she demanded.

"I-"Damon struggled with what to tell her. The truth was that he had wanted to be with her for a while now and when the opportunity presented itself, he could not say no. But he knew that was a weak excuse. And then she would ask why he didn't say that two weeks ago, when she first shared her feelings and then he'd be right back where he started.

So, he lied.

"I- You. I mean, we were wasted and things got a little out of hand, but all we did was make out a little bit, I swear."

"A little, Damon?" she pulled her collar down and showed him her neck.

He saw the dark purple marks in the shape of his mouth.

"Ooh, okay we made out a little hard, but that's it."

"That's it? Really?" she wanted to believe him.

"Really. As Caroline would say, No sex was had," he gave her his Damonest smile and she tried to fight it, but he got a shadow of a smile out of her too. It was accompanied by an eye roll, but he'd take what he could get.

"So how was it?" she folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"How was the... kissing? How was it?"

"How was it?"

"What are you, a freaking parrot? How was it? What was it like?"

"You're kidding me right?"

"Damon, you let me humiliate myself. I- I- I threw myself at you, and you let me. The least you can do is tell me how it was, was I good? I mean I must have been good enough, we 'made out a little hard', so I think that means you enjoyed it, but what do I know, maybe you faked it. Because last I checked you wanted nothing to do with me, like romantically, right? That's what you said, when you left me sitting in your backyard after I told you how I felt about you. No, wait you didn't say anything! And then you-"

"OKAY!" Damon shouted interrupting her. He had hoped this would go better. He'd already had this conversation with her and now he had to do it again.

"You want details?"

"Yeah, I want details." She squared off in front of him.

"Here's a detail. We already did this. And last night, when I apologized for hurting you the way I did, I told you that you were the last person on this earth that I ever wanted to do that to. But I am dangerous to be with. My track record is the worst, the last girl I dated in a magic coma, because she was in love with me. That's what loving me gets you, it gets you dead. So yeah, Bonnie. We made out a little bit. It was nice. Felt good. But we were drunk and it didn't mean anything." His tongue tasted like bile, like he could physically choke on the lies he was spewing. But it was for the best right? For her. He had to.

"It meant nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Well, good then. I'd hate for you to actually feel something." She stood silent for a few moments, feeling the vibe of the room, until Damon spoke again.

"So, are we good now? Can we be friends again after this? I've missed my drinking buddy."

"Ha, I don't know. Maybe. But drinking buddies are definitely out of the question. Obviously, I've got to cut back. I friggin' blacked out last night. That shits not cool."

"That's fine, you can be the Designated Driver and I'll do all the drinking, let's just get outta here," he grabbed her hand and started to pull her out of the room.

"What? No. Go where? I just got home." She pulled her hand away.

"I told you, the Pi Chi's are having a party. It's surfer themed," he informed her, like that would change her mind.

"Then you go, Damon. Seriously, I just don't feel up for it," she finally dropped her shoulder bag on the floor and turned a light on in her room.

"Do you want me to stick around tonight, so you aren't alone?"

"It's fine, I think I'm just gonna crash anyway."

 _After your 3 hour nap in the car? Yeah, right,_ Damon thought. But if she needed time so be it. As long as they could get back to the way they were before.

"I guess I'll go see what Ric's up to then," he said, trying not pout like a little kid being sent to his room.

"Sounds good."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"See you later."

"Seeya." And she shut the door behind him. "Friend."

A couple days later, Damon showed up at Bonnie's dorm, bright and early, sugary girly coffee in hand, determined to reset their friendship. In person. Bonnie had been dodging his calls and her texts were short and unhelpful. " _Busy." "Maybe later." "In Class." "Working now."_ It was like she had used any and every excuse to blow him off.

So he decided to just show up. He knew she had no classes on Tuesday's, not that he had memorized her schedule or anything…

When no one answered the door after several knocks, he called Bonnie.

"Hey, where are you? I've got coffee, open up," he said, when she finally picked up.

"You brought me coffee?" she sounded out of breath.

"I did, now open the damn door and accept my peace offering," he leaned against the door frame.

"I'm not at the dorm, Damon."

"What do you mean you're not at the dorm?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? I mean that I am not currently inside my dorm room."

"Then where the hell are you, at…" he checked his phone, "7:15 AM on a Tuesday?"

"Well, if you must know, I went for a jog," she told him.

"A jog?"

"A jog. A light run, you know, some physical exercise."

"Since when do you jog, Bonnie?"

"Since I got up this morning, stiff and sore, and I needed to clear my head. Sue me."

"Okay, that just sounds like bull. Look, if you don't wanna see me, all you had to do was say -" he was turning to leave, regretting making his surprise visit in the first place, when he looked up to see Bonnie coming down the hall. She was actually wearing running pants and a big sleeveless t-shirt over her sports bra. She was shiny with the sweat that was soaking said t-shirt. She had her phone at her ear.

"I'm sorry, you were saying? I didn't catch that last part." She was walking up to him.

"I was just… saying that I've heard jogging was good for your health."

"Uh-huh," she hung up and he handed her her coffee before she opened her door. He followed her in.

"So, what's up? Why are you here?" she sipped her coffee.

"What, a guy can't stop by and see a friend, bring her a coffee?" he sat on her bed and made himself comfortable.

"A guy can. You? Not so much."

"Seriously, I had no idea that you jogged."

"Damon, I was a cheerleader for like 2 years. I jog, get over it."

"It's just a shock, you doing something normal." He shook his head in disbelief.

She rolled her eyes.

"I need a shower," she told him.

"Don't let me stop you." Damon plucked a book off the desk beside her bed.

"Ugh, you are such an ass. And get your boots off my bedspread, you Neanderthal." She grabbed a few clothes and took her coffee and retreated into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Damon blew out a sigh of relief and tossed the text book back on the desk. They did it! They'd proved that their friendship could withstand all the crap they'd- okay _he_ had put it through in the last couple weeks. They could get through this weird patch, they just had to remember that their friendship was built upon their dislike for each other.

Damon chuckled at that. _Go figure. We fall for each other and have a real fight, but it takes mutual disrespect to bring us back together._

The shower started and soon Damon could hear the witch singing.

He smiled to himself and listened harder, thinking about how the first time he heard her sing was in the shower…

It was two days after their miserable excuse for a birthday party. They'd had a long day of playing magic school with zero results.

"This is so pointless. You don't have any magic, Bonnie! You're basically useless!"

"Damon, will you please cut the reverse psychology bull shit. I don't need your crap right now."

"Oh, honey believe me, you'll know reverse psychology when you hear it," he said pouring a glass of bourbon.

"You suck, you know that right?" she took his glass from him tossed it back in one gulp and returned it before leaving him standing there alone, and impressed.

When she didn't return after about fifteen minutes Damon went to find her, thinking about maybe offering a sort of apology.

As he approached her room, he heard music. With an eye roll, he walked right in expecting to find Bonnie curled up in tears on the bed but the room was empty. The door to the bathroom was half opened and that's where the music was coming from.

Damon turned to leave, thinking Oh well I tried. But when the song changed he realized it was Bonnie singing and not a radio like he had assumed.

" _Ain't nothing like the real thing baby, ain't nothing like the real thing. I've got your picture hanging on the wall, but it can't see or come to me when I call your name, I realize it's just a picture in a frame…"_

Wow. She's got an amazing voice, who knew? And Marvin Gaye? That was surprising. Okay, not that surprising.

He stood there listening to her mash up a few more of Marvin's hits before the shower cut off.

A minute later she came out the bathroom in a cloud of steam wrapped in a towel, singing " _I heard it through the grapevine…"_ under her breath.

"I didn't know you could sing," Damon accused and watched her nearly jump out of her skin.

"Jesus! What the hell are you doing in my room!" she screamed, clutching her towel to herself.

"You were singing," he said, like that was a good enough reason to invade someone's privacy.

"Okay, and?"

"I didn't know you could sing. You've got a nice voice. I mean, it doesn't make me wanna rupture my eardrums, so…" he backtracked with a shrug. He didn't want her to think he had complimented her or anything.

"Wow, thanks. Now get the hell outta here, you lurker." She pushed him from the room.

"I'm going, Bossy, I'm goin'." The door slammed behind him and he heard the click of the lock.

"Rude," he called through the door.

"Jackass," she shouted back.

The next day, he found a small cd player with a radio on it and he set it on the counter in her bathroom. She never mentioned the new appliance and neither did he. A few days later she again found him lurking in her room after her shower, feet kicked up on the bed.

"Seriously, Damon? We've gotta discuss boundaries."

…..

Damon was still thinking about their time in the prison world when Bonnie came from the bathroom. She was in a pair of jeans and a bra with her towel around her head.

"Oh my god, Bonnie, like, boundaries much?" he teased, imitating her voice.

"Shut up. I don't sound like that," she threw her towel at him with a playful glare, smacking him in the face.

Damon smiled into the towel and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell and taste of her shampoo and soap. Immediately his blood was rushing and his mind blanked for a moment.

"Very cute, Bon," his voice cracked as he removed the towel from his face to see Bonnie pulling an olive colored tank top down over her head.

"Yeah well, you know you love me," she teased without thought and immediately froze, shocked that she'd let that joke slip out. "Oh yeah. Still too soon," she forced a chuckle.

Damon did his best to ignore the awkward moment and changed the subject.

"So, what are we doing today? I was thinking we could go pick a fight with a couple heretics I know," he suggested.

"You sure you're ready to go toe to toe with them after the last time they kicked your ass?"

"No time like the present to find out."

"Well, I'm not really into having my ass handed to me today, so I'll pass," she said, sitting at the foot of her bed to put on a pair of socks.

"Okay, fine, you choose."

Her phone beeped, and she looked down to see a text from Care informing her of a book reading tonight hosted by one of her professors. Dress was business casual. Great.

"Business casual? I don't have anything business casual. What counts as business casual?" she turned to look at Damon.

"I'm sorry, are you _actually_ asking me?"

He should've left when he had the chance. He should've left her alone this morning. He should have just slept in, then he wouldn't sitting in a mall fitting room holding a pile of dresses and waiting for Bonnie to show him the gazillionth outfit that she was trying on.

"Okay, this is the blue one, is it better or worse than the green one?" Bonnie asked coming out the stall in a baggy blue short sleeved dress.

"It's just as baggy as the other one!"

"I told you, you have to imagine it with a belt around it." She pulled the back of the dress so it was tight at her waist. "See?"

"Okay, fine that's great. Let's go."

"Lemme just try on the green one with this sweater over it. Then we'll go."

"I don't believe you anymore, you've said that three times now," he whined.

"Well, statistically speaking, one of these times it's bound to be true."

"Bon, I gotta get out here before I eat someone out of boredom. Just get the green one and the blazer and let's go."

"You really liked the green one?" she asked peeking out of the stall.

"I LOVED the green one," he exaggerated.

"Hm," she mumbled closing the door back, "the dress he loves, but the girl…"

"Okay, I done. I'm just gonna meet you out front."

"But wait! I've gotta look at shoes!" she said through the door. He didn't answer.

"Damon?" she poked her head out, but the vampire was gone. She finished dressing and collected the clothes she was buying and walked over to the register.

"You haven't seen a guy, like six feet tall, dark hair, angry looking, come through here did you?"

"Yes ma'am, are you Bonnie?" she asked.

"I am…." Bonnie answered cautiously.

"The gentleman asked me to give you this," and she handed Bonnie a black credit card.

Bonnie just rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

"What else did he say? Did he say where he was going?"

"What else did who say? I'm afraid I don't understand," the clerk just looked at her. Bonnie noticed the scarf she was wearing, clashing with the rest of her outfit.

"That's a nice scarf, is it new?" she asked the lady.

"Oh, yeah, it must be. I hardly remember putting it on this morning. Are you ready for me to ring you up?"

"You know what? I'm gonna get the blue dress too," she decided and went back to shopping without him.

When she finished she texted Damon to see where he was and within five minutes she had found him and they were headed back to campus.

"I can't believe you left me," she said again.

"Believe it sister. There's a reason I order all my clothes online."

"I thought we were having fun, bonding or whatever."

"Or whatever meaning torturing me, then yeah."

"You're such a drama queen."

"Says the prom queen."

"Ouch, burn- Not!"

They went back and forth this way the rest of the ride home where he left her with Caroline to get ready for their evening.

"I can't believe you two are back to being friends, just like that."

"I know I should be harder on him, but it's exhausting. And I missed him. He makes me laugh," Bonnie confessed.

"Well, what did he say about you know…?" Care pointed at her neck.

"He says we made out a bit, it got a little hot and heavy and he backed off, and that's it."

"So you two didn't hook up?"

"No, I didn't sleep with him."

"So he says," Care was skeptical.

"You don't trust him?"

"Bon, its Damon. Of course I don't trust him."

"But he wouldn't lie about that. Would he?"

"I mean, I guess you know him better than I do, but still. You should try to figure out whether he's telling you the truth."

"Yeah. Maybe you're right." Bonnie thought about it.

How could she make him tell her the truth? Could she do a lie detector spell? Or a truth spell? Or a read-his-thoughts- spell…

The more she considered it the more she wanted to blow off this boring party tonight and get to work on it, but Care wouldn't hear of it.

So, she found herself, three hours later, picking shrimp puffs off passing trays and trying not to look bored out of her mind. Caroline had left her to "work the room," so she was on her own, sipping her third glass of champagne when someone asked her,

"So, you come here often?"

Bonnie turned, beyond irritated, ready to dismiss whichever future professional was trying to talk to her.

"Really, that's all you…" she puttered out midsentence stunned by the guy hitting on her.

It was like looking at sex on a stick. Tall, sandy hair, lanky build, with a face that liquefied your insides and made you want to have his baby just for the chance it could be blessed with his face.

"That was really dumb, I know, I'm sorry, but I had to say something to you and that was all I had."

Against her better judgement, Bonnie smiled.

"Hi, what's your name?" she asked him.

"I'm Gabe, nice to meet you."

"See how easy that was Gabe! No cheesy, dated, overused pickup lines necessary," she laughed at him.

"Well, you are clearly better at this than I am."

"At what? Talking to people I find attractive?" Bonnie could not believe she was flirting with this guy. The bubbles were obviously going to her head, or maybe it was just his smile, that dimple. She was flirting and she really didn't care.

"Yeah, exactly. So, wise one, if you were in my shoes what would you say now?" Impossibly his dimple grew even deeper.

"Okay, well, let me see…." Bonnie set her drink on a nearby tray and then pulled the new eye candy around so that they switched places.

"If I were in your shoes, which are very nice by the way… Um, I think I would probably ask the cute girl for her number so I could call her later, ask her to hang sometime…" she said slipping her own phone into his hand.

"Damn, you are good," he said typing in his number and then texting himself.

"Well, it helps being motivated, Dimples," she leaned her head to the side looking up at him, teasing him. Before she could continue the direction of their conversation she caught a glimpse behind Mr. Tall, Dark and Dimpled and she sobered up immediately.

"Oh god, I'm really sorry about this," she apologized as Damon and Alaric walked up to her.

"Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here. Who's your new friend?" Damon asked, pouring on the charm.

"Gabe, this is my boss, Professor Alaric Saltzman from the Anthropology Department," Bonnie introduced.  
"Pleasure to meet you professor," Gabe said, offering his hand for Ric to shake.

"And this is his dim-witted sidekick, Damon Salvatore," she finished, gesturing at the vampire as he snagged two glasses from a passing server and downed the first one.

"Oh, isn't our friend here hilarious," he said to Ric who had spent last three hours drinking and listening to Damon whine about being friends with Bonnie and shopping with Bonnie and his weekend with Bonnie. He'd had quite enough actually.

"Well, she's something, alright," Gabe assured, giving her a smile and a small wink, and received a giggle in return.

"Gabe was it, you're not from around here, are you?"

"No, how did you guess?"

"You could call it…. Instinct," Damon's pupils narrowed and darkened to blood read as thick veins appeared around his eyes.

"Whoa, okay, hey Gabe, why don't you go get me a drink, please?" Bonnie jerked at Gabe's shoulder.

"Right, right," he shook his head clear. "I never got your name though."

"I know, that's because I didn't give it," she leaned in and whispered, "I guess you're just gonna have to call me for it later."

"I think I'll do that," he grinned.

"Come on, Gabe, why don't you tell me about yourself over a drink," Ric stepped in before Damon could say anything else.

"What the hell was that?" Damon and Bonnie both asked.

"Me? What about you?" they continued.

"Seriously though, Bonnie, haven't you given your number to enough total strangers this weekend?"

"Excuse me? You're the one freaking out the strangers with your creepy eyes. What's your problem? And why are you even here?" she fired right back, snatching the champagne flute from his hand before it could meet his lips and downed it herself.

"Clearly it's a good thing I showed up. What happened to you cutting back on the drinking?" he pulled his empty glass from her hand.

"Oh relax Dad, it's a faculty mixer. How much trouble can a girl get into?" And she sauntered away to find her new friend.

"I liked the green dress better," he called out after her, watching her leave.

...

It was four in the morning when Damon's phone rang waking him from his sleep with a familiar and annoying ringtone (it was the theme music from _Sabrina: the Teenage Witch;_ he had done it a couple years ago as a joke to piss her off and it kind of stuck with him.)

"What do you want, Witchy?" he cleared his throat.

"Damon?" whispered Bonnie on the other end.

He sat upright in his bed; hearing the panic in her voice was like being doused with ice cold water.

"Damon, I need your help. There's something happening to me…."


	12. Chapter 12: The Breakdown

The Breakdown

Damon was out of the bed and leaving the house in a flash and was soon gunning the Camaro down the road to Whitmore.

Bonnie refused to say anything on the phone, just that she needed a ride from wherever she had woke up this morning and that she would explain later, just hurry.

The scenarios playing out in his mind were making him reckless as he careened down the dark and empty streets. In one scene, Bonnie had been dragged from her room in the middle of the night by the heretics and was tortured for information. In another scene, he imagined that she was drugged at that lame book club party and stuffed into the trunk of a car. He imagined a hundred different ways that Bonnie was in trouble and in every single scenario he wasn't there to stop it. He couldn't help her. Stefan was right, he couldn't protect her at all.

But he would sure as shit bring hell down on whoever had hurt her. There was no way they would still be breathing when he finished with them.

Bonnie had told him she was at a house off of highway 9. As far as he could see there were no houses out here. He slowed down looking for driveways in the dim dawn light.

He drove for another few miles before he saw a figure in the beam of his headlights, walking down the road. The person waved their arms, flagging down his car and Damon slammed on brakes when he recognized the woman's body and walk.

"Are you kidding me!" he yelled, getting out of the car. "I told you to wait there, not go traipsing down the road in the middle of the night. What if I'd been an axe murderer?"

"Well, I've befriended worse." She let him pull her into his arms and she melted against him exhausted.

"Are you hurt?" his voice rumbled in his chest.

"No."

"Then tell me what happened before I lose my mind. Who did this?" he pulled back to look at her and examine her face.

"No one, lets just go," she tried to pull him by his elbow to the car, but he wasn't budging.

"What do you mean, 'no one'? I came all the way out here to rescue you and I don't get to kill anybody?"

"You're not rescuing me, Damon, you're giving me a ride, so let's go." She pulled at his arm again.

"Bonnie, if you don't start explaining I'm walking in the next house I find and I'm pulling somebody's head off. Now where is the sonuvabitch that brought you out here?" he demanded.

Bonnie dropped his arm and turned away from him for a moment, taking in a breath.

"You're looking at her." She said softly. "I'm the reason I'm out here.

Damon stood looking at her, trying to understand what that meant and then it clicked for him. _She_ was the reason she was out there. That's why she wasn't scared or angry or sending him to punish her abductor: because there wasn't an abductor.

Damon took a step back from her, finally taking in her whole appearance. He'd been so focused on her face before, smudged and tear streaked as it were. But now, in the growing light of the morning he could see her outfit. She was in short black dress and thigh high boots 5 inches tall; definitely not business casual.

He was now making new assumptions and he had to stop before he really made himself crazy.

"Oh. Okay. You're right, let's go," he brushed past her heading for the car.

"That's it?"

"Yep. We're just friends Bonnie, so no questions asked, I'm here for you. Here to give you a ride. Now come on before you catch pneumonia," he worked hard to keep his voice from betraying the hurt and anger he was feeling, slamming the door a little too hard as he started the car.

"Look whatever you're thinking, it's not like that," she began once she was settled in the passenger seat and they were heading back to town.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"You're not exactly a hard read."

"Gee, thanks."

"Would you just listen?" she turned, looking at him.

"You don't have to say anything, I get it. You're young, you have a life, friends…" he was really beginning to hate that stupid word.

"Stop it, will you? You don't get anything because you haven't let me explain."

"So explain, then."

"I don't remember how I got out here, Damon."

That got his attention. "But you just said…"

"I said I'm the reason I'm out here, yes. When I woke up…" she flushed and almost couldn't finish her sentence. "I didn't know where I was. I don't know how I got there. The last thing I remember is being in my dorm room getting ready for bed."

"You blacked out again?" Damon assumed.

"Yeah. And when I checked my phone there were texts that I don't remember sending."

"To who?"

"That guy I met last night, Gabe. He asked if I wanted to hang, I said yea. I guess we met up and… we ended up out here at his friend's house." She could barely look at him.

"So someone did bring you out here. You must've been wasted Bonnie, who knows what could've happened to you," his temper was rising again.

"That's just it, Damon. I wasn't drunk. I remember getting that first message and then that's it. I mean, I know I was buzzed when I left the mixer but no way was I drunk enough to pass out. I made it all the way to my room. And then.. I don't know. Something happened."

"Well, let's go find Mr. Gabe and see what he's got to say."

"Don't bother, he said I wasn't drunk at all night. Not when he picked me up, anyway."

"So you already talked to the guy?"

"Yeah, he uh… he was there when I woke up," she crossed her arms around herself. Her eyes were on the windshield, focused on keeping her tears in check. She didn't want to cry in front of Damon, somehow she felt like he needed her to be strong.

Damon just looked over at her. She had no idea what was going on, but she had called him for help. So he needed to hold it together for her. Now would not be a good time to fly off the handle and go back and look for that bastard Gabe and… no, not now.

He let her sit for a few minutes while he managed his outrage at the whole situation. Then clearing his throat he said, "So, what's the plan?"

Bonnie finally peeked up at him, her hazel eyes filled with tears. "How would you feel about a roommate for a couple nights?"

"Mi casa es su casa," Damon joked, relieved that didn't have to suggest it himself or, worse, have to kidnap her just to keep her safe.

"Great. Can we swing by campus so I can pick up a few things and then… there's one more stop I gotta make."

* * *

Bonnie sat on the exam table struggling to answer the doctor's questions.

 _Was she sexually active?_ Well, not usually, however in the past week I may have had sex with two different guys, but only one for certain. No, he wasn't my boyfriend, I met him last night.

 _Did you use any birth control?_ Well, Doc, that's the question of the day isn't it! If I had, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now. So, I don't know if we had protection.

 _Was it consensual?_ Also a great question. I'm gonna go with its complicated. I mean, the guy was absolutely gorgeous, nice, funny, I was super attracted to him. Would I have hooked up with him on the first date? No, never, I'm not that kind of girl. But did I do it anyway? Yeah, I guess I did. So like I said, it's complicated.

The questions didn't get any easier to answer considering how much time Bonnie had spent dead and in prison worlds. She did her best, made a few things up, and nodded along with whatever the doctor was suggesting.

The doctor was extremely helpful, though. It seemed that Bonnie's situation was not all that uncommon on college campuses. Not that that made her feel any better.

Damon was waiting for her in the parking lot when she came out.

"Well? You pregnant?" he asked bluntly.

"It doesn't work that way Damon. If I am I'll know within the week when my results come back. Till then…." She pursed her lips and leaned against the car next to him.

"Till then. You hungry? You want anything? You wanna go get ice cream?" Damon threw out suggestions, hoping there was something he could do to make her feel better.

"Ice cream? It's like 9:30 in the morning," she replied.

"That never stopped us before," he grinned.

"Before, when we were trapped alone together with no one to judge us for our bad habits? Really, I'm fine. I'm just tired."

"Well, then lets get you home," he said opening her car door for her.

"Thank you Damon," she told him, looking up into his blue eyes and reading nothing but kindness there for once.

"What are friends for?"

When they arrived at the boarding house, Damon got her set up in his room. Bonnie insisted there were plenty of other rooms in the house, but he convinced her his had the best bathtub (Jacuzzi jets) and she couldn't argue with that. All she wanted was a long soak in a hot batch followed by an even longer nap in a soft bed.

As she climbed into the deep tub she was tempted to just turn her mind off and start her nap early, but she knew it was time to start figuring this crap out.

Twice now in the last week she had blacked out parts of her memory. Both times she'd wound up 'hooking up' with guys. But she was positive that she wasn't drunk the second time.

Bonnie sighed thinking about the first time she'd ever woke up somewhere strange. That time she'd been possessed by her ancestor Emily, and she had woke up at the ruins of the old church. So was some ancestor possessing her now? Maybe it was some other witch? One of the heretics in Mystic Falls? But they were using her body to party all night. That doesn't make any sense.

"Knock, knock," Damon said from behind the door. "You decent?"

"No, I'm in the bath," she said sinking lower; she didn't expect that would stop him from coming in anyways.

"Great," he pushed the door open and entered, hopping up to sit on the counter opposite her.

"You really have no boundaries do you?" she said shaking her head.

"It's my bathroom, what do I need boundaries for. And it's not like-" he stopped himself before he finished that cocky remark and opened a whole other can of worms.

"Not like what, Damon?" she glared at him, daring him to continue. _Not like you haven't seen it all before, or Not like you're into me anyway,_ Bonnie wasn't sure which one would hurt her more.

"It's not like you're the first naked woman I've ever had in my tub," he grinned that cocky smirk of his where his lips pull up to one side.

"Gross, why would you even tell me that? Now I'm thinking about all your exes being in here and you and the freaky things you probably did..." she gagged, that was worse than what she'd imagined he would say.

"No, no, go on. I was actually enjoying that train of thought…" he was looking off to the side, and she could only imagine the things he was fantasizing… or reminiscing.

"You're such a pig. Did you come in here just to ruin my bath time?"

"Surprisingly, no I did not. I came to let you know the Scooby Gang is on their way over to help sort this out."

"Oh, god, did you tell everybody about last night?"

"No. But I did tell them we were having a witchy crisis and to get their butts over here ASAP."

"Great. Care's gonna be pissed I didn't tell her myself," Bonnie sulked, imagining the look of hurt on her friend's face.

"Don't you worry about Blondie Bear, I'll deal with her," he promised getting down from the counter and leaving the room.

"Hey! Play nice!" she hollered after him. "I mean it!"

Downstairs the gang had arrived and were gathered in the living room.

"Okay, Damon, we're here. You wanna fill us in on our 'witchy crisis'?" Stefan asked.

"You didn't piss off the heretics again did you? We told you to leave them alone," Caroline added.

"No, I didn't piss off any heretics, they're a problem for another day. Today's crisis: the Bennett Witch."

"Bonnie?" Caroline stood. "What's wrong with her? Where is she? She wasn't at the dorm when I left this morning, is she okay?"

"Calm down, Detective Barbie. She's fine now, she's upstairs." Damon assured her.

"Wait, what do you mean 'fine now'?" Stefan zeroed in. "What happened?"

"She's blacking out again. Losing time."

"You called us in for an _intervention_?" Caroline rolled her eyes. "Bonnie's not an alcoholic, I would know, I live with her."

"Well did you know she left the dorm last night and met up with some stranger who took her to a party in the middle of nowhere where she woke up and didn't know where she was or how she'd got there?" Damon was growling through gritted teeth, staring down at a speechless Caroline.

"Easy, Damon," Bonnie's voice broke the shocked silence. "It's not like its Caroline's fault."

"Why not? She didn't stop you, did she?" Damon moved to pour himself a drink before he did something he wouldn't regret, like snapping the blondes neck.

"Is that true? What the hell happened?"

"Yes, its true. I woke up with a guy I met last night-"

"What guy?" Care interrupted.

"The guy from the party. Gabe?"

"Oh, but he was super cute though."

"Care!?"

"Not that it excuses anything, he just seemed so normal. What is he, like a warlock or a witchdoctor or something?"

"Worse," Bonnie plopped down on the couch, "he's a business major."

"I don't understand, what does that mean?" Stefan spoke up.

"Means he's human and she won't let me kill him. Or even maim him a little bit," explained Damon over his bourbon.

"That means he didn't use magic to lure you out there. So how did he get you out there?"

"Well, Stefan, he asked me out."

"What, like on a date? And you said yes?" Caroline was incredulous.

"Sort of. I don't know, I can't remember. I woke up, saw these texts and pieced together that me and Gabe got together around midnight." She pulled her phone out and passed it over to Caroline.

"But I went to bed after you at like 11:00. I would've heard you leave!" exclaimed Care.

"You had an audition this morning…" Bonnie started.

"And I wore my headphones because you talk in your sleep. Oh my god, Bonnie, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Care," she repeated. "Hell, I'm the one that talks in her sleep."

"It's not funny, and why didn't you call me to come get you?"

"Your audition?"

"I would've skipped that for you!" Care was hurt to think her friend thought that little of her.

"Oh, honey, I know that and I didn't want you miss out on that opportunity, I know how much it meant to you," Bonnie explained.

"Aw, Bonnie," Caroline caught her in a tight hug.

"I love you too, Care." Bonnie smiled.

"That's real sweet ladies, just precious," Damon said interrupting their moment. "Now if we could get back to the crisis at hand. What's causing her to black out?"

"Well, it's not the first time, right?" Stefan pointed out. "You've lost control of yourself before, like when you destroyed Emily's pendant…"

"Oh yeah. The night Damon tried to kill me," she threw him a pointed look.

"You're not still mad about that are you? It was a long time ago and I apologized didn't I?"

"No, no I don't think you did," Bonnie shook her head.

"Well, it's not like I _actually_ killed you," he shrugged.

"That's still not an _actual_ apology!"

"It's close enough!"

"Okay, you two, enough already!" Caroline yelled, stopping the bickering.

"The point is," Stef continued like he wasn't dealing with children, "you were possessed, Bonnie. What if that's what's happening now?"

"No, that can't be it, I'm not being possessed," Bonnie replied.

"That sounds exactly like something a possessor would say to throw us off. How do we even know you're Bonnie right now?" Care stood from her place beside her best friend and backed away.

"Oh, come on. I'm definitely not possessed right now! I'm sitting here, talking to you totally lucid. Stefan?" she looked to him to be the voice of reason.

"Okay, say you're you right now. How do we know when you'll… change or turn or whatever?"

"There's got to be a trigger, like with the travelers," Damon crossed to Bonnie and kneeling he grabbed her by the head and said, "Viet. Veet? Veeyet? Vote? Veni vidi vicci? Vitamin!?"

"Will you knock it off?" She put her hand on his face and shoved him back on his ass. "You're giving me a headache." She rubbed at her temples.

"Nope, that's definitely her," Damon said climbing to his feet.

"The travelers are all gone, you killed them remember?"

"But are you sure we got all of them?" Caroline asked. "What if one survived and it needs your magic to… do… something!"

"I mean, its possible, I guess," Bonnie sighed.

"Well until we figure out what's triggering your black outs, you should probably be… you know." Stefan's suggestion was too vague for Bonnie who was having a hard time concentrating. "Just to be safe."

"No, know what?" she looked at Damon who grinned way too wide to mean anything good. Stefan just looked down at his shoes, not wanting to say whatever he was thinking. "Damon, what's he talking about?"

"Well, Princess, he's talking about locking you up and throwing away the key."

* * *

"Oh, come on, Bon Bon, don't give me the puppy dog eyes. This is for your own good," Damon said as she looked around the inside of the dungeon, cell, cellar, or whichever.

"Then why do you look like you're enjoying this so much?" she tried to glare at him but could only work up a sad pout.

"Eh, that's just the sadist in me." He grinned even wider at the alarmed look on her face. "Don't worry, you're not gonna be tortured. But you have to appreciate the irony here, right? I mean _you_ are the last person I thought I would ever get to lock up down here." She gave him her _excuse me?_ look. "I meant _have to_. The last person I would _have to lock up down here._ " He corrected himself.

Bonnie sighed in disgust. "I hate this. This room is gross and sad and nasty and this is not what I had in mind when I asked if you wanted a roommate."

"What's wrong with the room? It's got everything you need: cot, chair... chamber pot," he smiled.

"A what?!" she whipped around to see if he was joking.

"I'm kidding, calm down," Damon reached out and rubbed her arms and she jumped in surprise but immediately melted at his touch. "I will make sure you are comfortable and then I won't leave you for a second, okay?" she turned to face him.

"Why can't you just lock me up in your room? Above ground? Where there's a bed?"

"Why, Miss Bennett are you trying to seduce me?" he teased, unleashing his southern accent.

"A- I- No!" she was blushing, thinking about what she just implied. "That's not what I meant and you know it! I'm tired, I haven't been sleeping well, I'm sharing my body with god knows who and you want me to sleep on that thing!" she was dangerously close to losing it, cracking up, and this dingy cell was only making matters worse.

Damon could see how upset she was and not just at her new accommodations.

"Look, you have to stop freaking out," he said softly. " You're going to be fine. I – we can all keep an eye on you down here so that you don't go rendezvousing with anybody else. I promise, I'm going to keep you safe."

He pulled her face up to look at him.

"You trust me?"

Bonnie shivered, looking up into those blue eyes deep enough to swim in and her heart squeezed in her chest. She'd do anything for him and it scared her to death. She took a breath and swallowed hard, pushing down her romantic feelings. "Yeah, I trust you."

"Good. Now, I'm going to take Blondie to go get some supplies and Stefan can sit with you for a little bit. Okay?"

"Okay."

He left her standing in the center of the room, literally holding herself together with her arms wrapped around her small frame. "I'll be right back." He closed the door behind him and locked it before he started for the stairs.

"Pick up cereal too. And don't forget the-"

"Two percent milk, I know! Don't nag me woman!" And he was gone.

Bonnie crossed to the wall opposite the door and picked up the heavy iron shackles hanging there. She shuddered to think her friends might have to use them on her.

"Don't worry," Stefan said on the other side of the door. "Since you haven't killed anyone yet I don't think those will be necessary."

He let himself in and closed the door behind him.

"Yet being the operative word," Bonnie carefully sat down on the cot.

"We will figure all of this out. You'll be out of here in no time." Stefan said sliding to the floor against the door, blocking the exit.

Bonnie sighed. " Can I ask you something?"

"Sure anything," the younger Salvatore replied.

"Well, when I -… I mean, the other night, when we were in New York…" she started.

"Yeah?"

"What was I like? I mean none of you even suspected I was, you know, not me. But that was the start of this whole mess."

"Well, Bonnie you'd been drinking," he hedged. "A lot. You were drunk. Hell, we were all pretty wasted. And we were all just having a good time. Why do you think the two instances are related?"

"Because I blacked out, Stefan. Completely. I remember nothing. No blurry or fuzzy moments. You guys told me I did things that I don't remember at all. Just like I have no memory of hooking up with Gabe last night, but he said we did." He'd actually said, it was amazing, but Stefan didn't need the dirty details.

"Then maybe that's it. That's the trigger!" he hopped up and the next second the door was opened and he was gone.

"Stefan? What the hell are you talking about?" she stood up and started for the open cell door.

But Stefan was back in a flash with two glasses and two bottles. "Pick your poison, brown or white?" he said, handing her a glass and then folding his legs, he swiftly dropped to the floor sitting Indian style.

"Are you freaking kidding me? Where the hell did you find vodka in the Salvatore house?" she sat across from him and set her glass down for him to fill.

"Caroline," was his one word explanation.

"Ah. Of course," Bonnie held her glass out in a toast. "To Caroline Forbes!" They clinked their glasses and downed their first drink. Bonnie coughed a bit as it burned its way down her throat.

"First ones the hardest. Here," Stefan grabbed her glass and refilled it. She took a breath, readying herself and then knocked back another shot. "Good girl. So, you're not so bad at this, huh?"

"At what, doing shots?" she laughed, already beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol.

"Yeah, actually. You know, for a human." He poured himself a double shot of the bourbon and tossed it back like a pro.

"Well Stefan, not all of us have the tolerance of a vampire," she let him pour her another. "But I did spend four months trapped alone with your brother. So yeah, I'm not so bad at this." She drank another shot.

"You guys did a lot of drinking over there?"

"Did we? Does a fat kid love cake?" she laughed. "Damon thinks bourbon is an acceptable side for every meal, at every time of the day." She paused thinking back on their time in the prison world. "Not that I could blame him. The first couple weeks were really hard. On both of us. I mean, we thought we were in hell." She tipped back another drink.

Stefan was quiet, listening. "It must have terrible." He poured her another.

"Not all the time. When your brother wasn't being a total jerk, pain in my ass, he made it fun."

"Fun? Fun how?" Stefan drank his own shot prompting Bonnie to take hers.

"Like this one night, I was so frustrated with trying to get my magic back, like it got to the point I was ready to give up all together. And Damon just stops and looks at me while I'm freaking out, like crying and everything. And then, out of nowhere, he throws me over his shoulder, sticks me in our car and drives us to the Grille. He said we deserved a night off and so he turned on all the stupid twinkle light and the flashy lights and the disco ball. And he cranks up the jukebox to music I actually don't hate and we jammed for hours. And we drank," she took her next shot and raised it up. "We drank to everything, to you, to Elena, to Jeremy, to Mystic Falls, to Kurt Cobain!" she poured the shot down her mouth, missing a little and spilling on her shirt.

"Oh, no," Stefan said laughing with her.

"Oh, yes! I had no idea Damon could play music, play the guitar like that, but wow, he was amazing!" she gushed.

"Yeah, he mentioned once that he had toured with Marilyn Manson when he was still underground. I never really believed it though."

"I totally believe it Stefan! He was that good!" she climbed to her feet, using the wall for support. She pulled her jacket off. "He was like- " and she demonstrated, showing off her air guitar moves, throwing her head back and forth, jumping around, making guitar sounds.

Stefan just howled laughing at her impression of his brother.

"And I was drunk so I was totally into it too. He played and I sang like I was Mariah Carey or something!"

"Wait, he played Mariah Carey songs?"

"I shit you not, we set up the karaoke machine at the Grille and he played along with the tracks and we sang to _Hero_ , you know- ' _and then a hero comes along, with the strength to carry on_ '- you know that song right?!"

"Oh, I know the song," he nodded in disbelief.

Bonnie was out of breath and stumbling, her limbs and face were tingling. She was definitely tipsy. She went back and sat next to Stefan, bracing herself on his shoulder and sliding down the wall, landing hard. With a sigh, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I just remember thinking, If this is hell how can I be enjoying myself this much?" she skipped the glass and grabbed the bottle and took a sip.

"But at least you remembered it though," Stefan reminded her. "That's a good thing."

"Ha! I remembered the karaoke!" she leaned away from him and turning to face him she lifted the side of her tank top to show him the image tattooed across her ribcage. It was a burning feather with the words _Phesmatos Incendia_ scrawled underneath it in an elegant script. "I woke up the next morning on a pool table with this little number. I know, trashy right? Waking up from a drunken night with a tattoo and …. no… No memory… how… how it got there." She was looking at the vampire next to her, eyes wide and filled with dread. She ran her fingertips over the tattoo next to her left breast, remembering how it felt to wake up with her side aching when she'd rolled over on it. Her breathing came faster as she thought back to finding Damon knocked out on the bar of Grille, face down in a puddle of drool. She could remember waking him up, demanding to know what had happened last night.

"Oh my god, Stefan I don't remember him giving me this tattoo. I don't, I never have!" she was on the verge of hyperventilating as she shakily got to her feet.

Stefan followed suit and stood. " Bonnie, tell me you remember something. It was over a year ago and a really tough time in your life. You must be repressing it - "

"No, Stefan. I woke up on a pool table with a tattoo and no memory of how it got there," she repeated in case he'd missed it the first time. "Damon told me about it later on the way home. About how it was my idea in the first place and how I told him what I had wanted and he drew it out on a bar napkin first." She was pacing the short length of the room. "But I do not remember him doing it. That had to be the first time it happened."

"No, that doesn't make any sense because –"

"Because Damon and I were alone there? Yeah. That's what we thought too. But we weren't." She whipped around to look at the vampire, frozen mid step across the room.

"Kai."

"Yes. But Damon killed Kai. I know he's dead, I saw him. I saw Damon kill him." She was definitely hyperventilating now.

"Okay, calm down, Bonnie. Sit down," he guided her over to the cot. "Breathe. Kai is dead, he can't hurt you."

"How did I not put that together?"

"Can you think of any other times something like this happened?"

"Not really. I mean, we don't talk about it. I shouldn't have told you any of this. Vegas rules: what happened in '94, stays in '94."

"So, that's the only other time you've blacked out?"

"How would I know Stefan, I can't remember!" she exploded at him. He just sat there for a moment in the silence that followed her outburst. "I'm sorry. But the idea that my best friend could be doing this to me… that's crazy right? It's got to be something else."

"Damon would never intentionally put you in danger. You know that."

"Yeah. You're right." She nodded, knowing he was right. She laid back on the cot.

"You've had a long day, why don't you get some rest," Stefan suggested.

"If I fall asleep, don't leave me alone, okay."

"I'm not going anywhere, I'll be right here."

"Leave the bottle," she told him and he set it on the floor next to her cot. "Thanks Stefan."

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **Author Note: Disclaimer I don't own TVD or the character's I just love them. It's a little long, and it felt a little hodgepodge, but I didn't want to break it up in multiple chapters. But is longer really a bad thing? Thoughts about Bonnies crisis? Thoughts about Damon's reaction? Thoughts about the story? Questions about the story? Leave a review, I read them all.**

 **Thanks for reading,**

 **-T**


	13. Chapter 13: Joy Ride

Joy Ride

When Bonnie woke up, Damon was sitting in the corner of the room, waiting for her.

"How you feeling, Boozy?" he asked with a grin, watching her stretch out, feeling the covers around her, looking a bit confused.

"You got me an air mattress?" she propped herself up on her elbow to look over at him.

"Well, I figured if it would get you to stop complaining…" he smiled at her. "You like it?"

"It's great. Big enough for two. Thanks," with a sigh she lay back against the pillow he'd brought her.

"So, I hear you and Stefan had a little talk."

"We did. I told him about my tattoo…"

Damon got up and went to sit down by her. "You know I would never hurt you, right? Not purposely. Not ever." He looked at her with intense eyes, compelling eyes.

"You can't compel me, Damon."

"I wasn't trying to," he said. "I shouldn't have to, you should know me better than that Bon."

"I thought I did, but now…" she turned her head away from him.

"Is this because of the tattoo thing?"

"No, I love my tattoo. It's one of my favorite things about you, that you drew it for me. That you did it for me." her voice was so sad, he could barely stand it.

"Then what's wrong?" he reached out and grabbed her hand, trying to comfort her with his touch. He could see her brow was all wrinkled up and worried. "You're gonna be fine Bonnie."

"I know." She rolled over taking his hand in both of hers and placing it under her cheek, forcing him to shift closer into the middle of the mattress with her. "It's just… why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"The truth? What are you talking about?

"I'm talking about New York, Damon. Why didn't you just tell me the truth about what really happened?" He was speechless. "Did you think I'd be so upset that I would never forgive you? Well, I do. I forgive you, that's what you do for the people you love." She moved one hand up to cup his face and stroke his full lower lip with her delicate thumb. "I love you, Damon."

"What exactly did Stefan tell you?"

She rolled her eyes and sat up, tucking her legs underneath her so she could sit on her knees to look him in the eye. "Stefan didn't tell me anything, but you should have."

"Then how do you know? Bonnie, did your memories come back?" he asked, excited and shocked.

"Oh, in a manner of speaking," she shrugged and reached up pulling his face down to meet hers in a fiery kiss.

Suddenly Damon found Bonnie straddling his lap, his face between her small palms, his lips moving under hers, tasting her tongue, meeting her excitement with his own. He was pushed back down on the mattress and though he tried to hold his own, somehow he literally couldn't resist. She lowered her face to his again, but this time he stopped her.

"Bonnie, wait, what are we doing?"

"Aw, how quickly they forget. I thought you liked it when I made the first move. Should I remind you?" She rolled her hips back and forth, slowly grinding on the growing stiffness in his pants while she effortlessly pinned his arms down over his head. Suddenly he knew something wasn't right.

"Who are you?" he went to push her off him, but he couldn't move his arms or legs. "What are you doing to me? What did you do with Bonnie?" he struggled to move his limbs using all his strength, but it was like he was being held by invisible ropes.

"Oh, there there, your little Bonnie is perfectly fine. Now, where were we Lover?" she lowered her head to his neck and planted kisses going up and down, making Damon's blood rush against his will.

"You let go of me bitch," he growled.

"Oooo name calling?" she excitedly squeezed her thighs around him, "I like it! Why don't you just _bite me_ Damon?" she whispered in his ear, "I promise I'll bite back." She nibbled on his earlobe, sucking on it while Damon's breathing hitched and sighed.

"Who the hell are you?' he groaned.

"Baby, I'm Bonnie B! The one and soon to be only." She smirked, fishing her hands around in his pockets. "Oh, is that your phone or are you just happy to see me?"

Damon closed his eyes trying to focus on anything besides the erection in his pants and the woman that was making him harder by the second. _Baseball. My mother. My mother playing baseball!_ It wasn't working.

"What do you want with Bonnie?" Damon hoped he could keep her talking and distracted long enough for someone upstairs to find them.

"I told you lover, I _am_ Bonnie. I think you called me the Fun Bon once, I kinda like that. FunBun? It's got a ring to it. And all I want is what she wants, what every girl wants." She went back to feeling the front of his jeans, "Oops! Those aren't keys are they?" she rubbed her hand up and down the hard imprint of his cock watching his face try to fight the effect she had on him. She teased him some more, before putting her hands back in his pockets, continuing her search and unearthing a syringe in his right pocket. "Is this for me? You shouldn't have, I didn't get you anything," she pouted.

"Damon?" a voice sounded at the top of the stairs.

"Dammit! I really hate being interrupted. Oh, well," she bit the cap off the needle and plunged it into heart. She finally dug his keys and wallet out of his pocket before muttering an incantation and disappearing before his drooping eyes, just as the door to the cell swung open.

"Catch you on the flipside lover," a quiet disembodied voice whispered in his ear and he felt a peck on his cheek right before everything went black.

…..

* * *

Damon's eyes slowly flickered open and he heard voices arguing around him. He couldn't move yet but he was starting to feel a tingling in his fingertips.

"How do you suppose we find her then, Stefan? She left her phone!" Caroline said.

"Well, I don't know Care, but standing here yelling at me isn't helping anyone," Stefan fired back.

"It's helping me!" Care yelled back.

"Oy! Could you please take it down a notch Forbes," Damon slurred, rolling his tongue in mouth, flexing his fingers, gaining his mobility again.

"You okay, brother?" Stefan was standing over him.

"Ugh," he groaned sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the air mattress that he had once been so proud of. "I can't believe she stabbed me with my own tranq," he griped, rubbing the injection site as the pain slowly wore off.

"Who did?" Caroline asked.

"Fucking Bonnie!" Damon stood to his feet and swayed a bit, like his legs were asleep.

"Well, duh, we gathered as much, but who's possessing her?" Caroline pressed.

"Bonnie," Damon spat. "Bonnie is possessing Bonnie," he left the cell on shaky legs.

"Wait, Damon what do you mean?" Stefan and Caroline followed him upstairs to the living room.

"I mean that crazy witch of ours doesn't need an exorcist," he grabbed a glass, filled it, and drank it all in one swift practiced motion. "What she needs is a freaking therapist."

"It was Bonnie? How the hell is that possible?"

"What exactly happened down there Damon?" Stef asked his brother.

"Well, someone decided to get her liquored up to see if she'd change! And she did. She woke up, she sweet talked me, and then she tranqed me." Damon refilled his glass again.

"Are you blaming me? You're the one who was watching her!"

"Let's not point fingers, I'm just saying that if she hadn't been drunk maybe she wouldn't have got away."

"But how did she get away? How'd she overpower you?"

"She's Bonnie B, I don't know! She's sneaky that's how," he chose to gloss over the details of how she'd gotten the upper hand on him. "She used magic to hold me down- she's crazy strong- she stole my keys, and then literally disappeared. Poof, vanished!"

"Bonnie can't disappear, she's never done that before," Caroline argued.

"Well, now she can. And she did." Damon sank down into a side chair.

"Did she say what she was after?"

"Not really… She said she wants what Bonnie wants, what all girls want."

"Which is?"

"I don't know Stefan, I'm not a mind reader." They both looked to Caroline to clarify.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Because last I checked you're the girl in the equation."

"That's so sexist. Guys, this is like the oldest question in the world, 'what do girls want?'," Care said just as the front door opened and Alaric let himself in.

"Oh, easy," Ric said.

"Easy? _You_ know what girls want?" Damon found that hard to believe.

"Sure," Ric looked around at the vampires in the room. "Come on... Girls just wanna have fun? Cyndi Lauper? They made a whole movie about it." His joke was met with silence all around.

"Seriously, Ric? You're three hours late to the party and that's all you got?"

"You want to fill me in on the details then? I had meetings all afternoon and my TA left me high and dry."

"You and me both brother," Damon mumbled flashing back to that moment in the basement when he first realized it wasn't _his_ Bonnie and all the things she was doing to him….. He quickly took a long pull from the bottle at his side, trying to wash it away, before his thoughts could get him in trouble.

"Well, that's kinda the problem," Caroline started.

"Bonnie's missing," Stef explained. "She's been having these black outs and memory loss. We thought she may be… being possessed by someone but apparently…"

"It's just Bonnie's alter ego out for a joy ride. In my car."

"Bonnie's got an alter ego? Bonnie _Bennett?_ " a confused Ric asked.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, and she's powerful. She can do magic I've never seen our Bonnie do," said Damon.

"And she's missing?"

"She got Damon in the heart with his own tranquilizer and then stole his car. You've gotta admit, the girl's got spunk. Points for style," Caroline reasoned.

"So how do we find her? Assuming she doesn't want to be found."

"We split up. Check campus, Mystic Falls, all her usual places," suggested Stefan, taking charge.

Damon stood to his feet. "I'll go with the Professor, you take Mary Ann. Call me if you find anything. Do not engage. She's dangerous," he warned.

"Copy that."

….

* * *

Two hours later Damon and Ric were still driving around looking for Bonnie. They'd tried the Grille, her Gram's house, and her dad's house and found nothing.

They were now headed to Whitmore to meet Stefan and Caroline.

"So each time Bonnie has blacked out, she was drinking with you right before, and you didn't think that was relevant?" mused Ric.

"I drink with a lot of people, yourself included, and you aren't having any promiscuous psychotic breaks, are you? No. So excuse me for missing the pattern. AND, for your information, she was drinking with Stefan this time, not me."

"Promiscuous psychotic breaks?"

"Yeah, apparently BonBon's dark side really wants to let her freak flag fly." Damon's phone buzzed and he checked it to see a message from Stefan. "They found her. She's at a coffee shop on campus."

"Well, so much for freak flag," Alaric laughed, hitting the accelerator.

…..

* * *

Ric and Damon walked into the dimly lit coffee house, immediately looking for Stefan and Caroline and found them standing a few feet inside the door. The place was packed wall to wall with twenty-something year old hipster types.

"Well, where is she?" Damon raised his voice above the noise of the crowd.

"See for yourself," Stefan pointed at the stage where Bonnie was performing for the crowd.

"Of course," Damon sighed.

"See, I told," Ric grinned. "Girls just wanna fun." Bonnie finished her song and the crowd went wild. "I didn't even know Bonnie could sing."

"I think that's the point. The Bonnie we know doesn't sing for anybody but maybe deep down she wants to." Stefan surmised.

"Okay everybody, you all have been uh-mazing," onstage Bonnie was talking to her fans. "But I believe my ride just showed up, so this will have to be my last song." The crowd booed. "I know, I know, but I'll try to come back and visit again, will that be alright?" The audience cheered and whooped, they were all hanging on her every word. "Cool. This next song is a little bit of old school flavor for you, but it's one of my favorites and if you're listening, Lover, this song's for you." She looked right at Damon before she turned from the mic to talk with the band for a moment.

"Lover?" Caroline whipped around to look at Damon.

"It's just a figure of speech," Damon excused. On some level he was enjoying this little cat and mouse game they were playing, he was almost sad it had to end.

"Yeah, right."

" _Let me know, let me know... let me know, let me know…"_ Bonnie sang out a'cappella for a few lines. Damon had been expecting another TLC cover and was surprised to hear a song she hadn't sang for him before. The music started and FunBun began rocking with the beat.

" _When I feel what I feel, sometimes it's hard to tell you so._

 _You may not be in the mood to learn what you think you know._

 _There are times when I find you want to keep yourself from me_

 _And when I don't have the strength I'm just a mirror to what I see….._

 _But at your best you are love,_

 _You're a positive motivating force, within my life_

 _And should you ever feel the need to wonder why_

 _Just let me know, let me know…."_

Without even realizing, Damon had drifted away from his friends towards the stage, moving slowly through the crowd. Bonnie's voice had always stirred him, from the moment he'd first heard her singing in the shower, it called to him and soothed him like a siren's song, and now was no different. In that moment there was no evil Bonnie or alter-ego Bonnie or anything. For Damon, there was only a girl singing, singing for him, and he loved her. He knew he wouldn't be able to fight himself much longer.

She sang and sang and for once Damon listened. When the song ended, she bowed and thanked the crowd, blew them a kiss, every bit a performer to the end, and she walked off the stage.

Damon met her there and gave her a short round of applause. Once the singing ended, he had been able to clear his mind a bit.

"Well Lover, what'd you think?"

"It was beautiful, as always," he told her, as she sidled up to him and wrapped her slender arms around his waist and rested her hands on his behind.

"Butt?" she squeezed with a grin.

"But it' time to get you home."

"I'm not really ready to leave, thanks. How bout we go see what kinda trouble we can get into," she winked up at him and pulled his hips to her by his belt loops.

Damon hummed a bit, "Mmm don't tempt me."

"Then tell baby bro no to try anything stupid with that syringe of his or things are gonna go south real quick," she warned. "And NOT in a fun way," she added, tracing her finger tauntingly along the inside of his jeans waistband. "Call off the hounds, Damon."

"Or what?"

"You really need me to threaten you? You saw what I did earlier, be creative, just imagine what I'll do with an audience this time…" her threat was made all the more menacing by the evil grin on her otherwise sweet face.

Damon couldn't decide whether or not to call her bluff and Stefan was fast approaching attempting to ambush her from behind.

"Tick tock, Cowboy, what's it gonna be?

Damon deliberated a moment longer and then decided to take his chances. He grabbed her wrists, roughly.

"Wrong choice, lover," Bonnie's eyes were locked on Damon and without even muttering a word she brought him to his knees with her overwhelming power and the lights burst overhead in the same instant, throwing the crowded room into a panic as people ran for the exits. Bonnie brought her knee up with such force that as it collided with Damon's face he felt the cartilage of his nose smash into his brain. He collapsed in pain, blood flowing freely.

Stefan lunged at Bonnie while she was standing over Damon's prone figure with her back turned. He was sure she couldn't see him and still she stopped him in midair. He couldn't move his limbs, couldn't speak, could only watch as she turned to look at him hanging there.

"Oh Stef, if you wanted to play, you could've just asked." She raised her hand taking Stefan's motionless body with it, high above the tables and chairs in the small shop.

"Bonnie stop!" Caroline yelled at her racing forward.

But Bonnie was ready for her and halted her advance easily with her other hand.

"Do you really wanna fight me, Care Bear?" Bonnie strutted right up to her and laughed in her face. "I've always been stronger than you. You'd do well to remember that."

"Let me go Bonnie and we'll see who's stronger."

"Let you go? But we're just getting started." She threw her right arm up and brought it back down and Stefan came slamming to the floor, shattering a table, the syringe he had intended for Bonnie went sliding across the floor to where Alaric stood watching in horror.

Customers were still running screaming from the shop as Bonnie raised her arm again and sent Stefan flying over the counter and smashing headfirst into the shelves of coffee behind it. "Stefan!" Caroline screamed.

"Still wanna try me?" Bonnie said, her eyes were dark, her smile smug.

Caroline just glared at the woman she'd been friends with for over 15 years.

"Didn't think so. Night, night," Bonnie blew a kiss in her face and blonde vampire felt her spine snap and she crumbled into a heap.

Finally, Bonnie turned her attention back to Alaric standing across from her in the empty room, holding the syringe Stefan had lost. "Ric, Ric, Ric. Pretty Ricky. What are you doing? You're human now. You should've ran when you had the chance."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

"This? This is pretty funny. Besides this is exactly what they wanted to do to me. Tie me down, lock me away like a prisoner. This was self-defense!" Bonnie stood with her hand on her hip, surveying her work.

"We're just trying to help you. This isn't you."

"On the contrary, this is me. For better or worse, this is Bonnie Bennett. You should get used to it," Bonnie slowly approached him. "You should take that needle and put it to your neck and inject yourself."

"Bonnie, what-?" he shook his head as his arm rose against his will. "Why?"

Bonnie was standing close to Ric, observing with a sick fascination as the needle broke through his skin and his thumb pressed the plunger and the liquid entered his system and he dropped to the ground.

"Because I can," she said to herself with a sigh. She stepped over Alaric and left the shop without looking back.

* * *

 **A/N Hello Readers: The song Bonnie does at the coffee shop is called _At Your Best (You Are Love)_. It's by a cover of an Isley Brother's song by Aaliyah, you should find it and give it a listen if you've never heard it. I think it speaks a lot about how both Bonnie and Damon are feeling in this fic and how they keep avoiding it and Bonnie's like you don't have to avoid it, just let me know how you really feel... Anyway, yeah. Will update soon:)**

 **-T**


	14. Chapter 14: Regrouping

Regrouping

"I'm telling you whoever that was, that was not Bonnie."

"Well, it sure wasn't the Easter Bunny," Damon said to Caroline while she sucked down another blood bag.

They were gathered in Alaric's office trying to regain their strength after their run in with Bonnie.

"But Bonnie would never attack us, well not me. Why would Bonnie attack me, I'm her best friend."

"I've attacked several of my friends. I wouldn't take it personal."

"Shut up, Damon, this is entirely your fault," she snapped from her perch on top of Ric's desk.

"How is any of this my fault?" Damon asked. "I did warn you not to engage, I told you she was dangerous."

"It's your fault she got away!"

"I'm the first one she attacked, remember."

"Will you two please. Stop." The bickering vampires went to their separate corners. Stefan held his chilled blood bag against his head.

It hadn't taken Stefan and the others long to come to and clear out of the emptied coffee shop before the police could arrive. Damon had to haul Alaric's dead weight to the backseat of his truck, but they'd all made it out in one piece. Yes, Ric was still passed out on his crappy little couch but at least they'd found his pulse. Now they just needed to find a way to help Bonnie.

"This whole witchy woo situation requires another witchy woo to unwitchy woo the witch who wants to kill us. Any one got another witch in their pockets? 'Cause I'm fresh out."

"I'm not so sure we need another witch. It's like you said before, 'what she needs is a therapist'. Her problem isn't completely magical; it's mental, psychological. Her alter ego is the one misusing her magic," said Stefan.

"Not just misusing her magic, though," Caroline argued, "she's literally taking over Bonnie's body without Bonnie even knowing."

"That's one hell of a subconscious." Damon took a pull from his blood bag in one hand and chased it down with the bourbon in the other.

"But not for long if she gets her way," Ric groaned from his prone position on the couch. He rolled his head around and sat up. Damon passed him the bottle and took a seat beside him.

"Welcome back brother. How you feelin'?"

"Like I was just knocked out by my star pupil."

"Join the club."

"What did you mean 'not if she gets her way'?" Caroline cut in.

"That's what she said to me- 'this is Bonnie Bennett, get used to it.' I think she wants to make this a more permanent arrangement," explained Ric.

"Is that even possible? To erase herself?"

"Well, she wouldn't be erasing herself, she'd be suppressing the dominant half of her personality, just like she's been doing with-"

"FunBun," Damon supplied.

"FunBun? Really?" Ric questioned.

Damon shrugged, "Her words not mine."

"So we should find her before that can happen," Stefan suggested.

"How do we stop it from happening?" asked Damon.

"Will we be able to get our Bonnie back if we're already too late?"

"Guys, I don't know," Ric pushed himself up from the low sofa. "But we've got resources, we just need to find something soon." He walked over and grabbed a stack of books off a shelf and dropped them on his desk. "Dig in."

For the rest of the night they sat and researched through Ric's collections of occult texts. Caroline went to the library and returned with a fresh stack of dusty tomes on psychology, psychiatry, and hypnosis.

By dawn they were experts on coven dynamics and power seizures, dual personalities and dissociative personality disorder. But they hadn't found a single spell to snap Bonnie out of it.

"I know I had a book on this type of thing, but it's not here." Ric shifted through his stacks and shelves again searching for a particular book.

"Maybe you took it home for a bit of bed time reading," Damon wondered from where his face rested on the text he'd been trying to read.

"No, I leave the books on witchcraft here for…" Alaric froze in mid search and his shoulders dropped. "For Bonnie. She was in last week researching something and I told her to take what she needed. She must have it."

"What exactly was in this book, Ric?" Damon picked his face up off the pages.

"Let's just say that it's a how-to guide for possession and spirit travel."

"And now she has the book and an eight hour head start on us? Great! We're screwed."

"No, we just need to find Bonnie and find the book."

"Do you really think she just went home knowing we're looking for her?" Care shook her head, dismissing that thought even as she spoke it aloud.

"Well, think like Bonnie, where would she go?" Stefan tried.

"That's the thing though, she's not thinking like herself, she's thinking-"

"Like evil FunBun," Damon finished Care's sentence.

"Actually, I was gonna say like you, Damon."

"Like me?"

"Yeah. Acting out, picking fights, craving attention…"

"You make me sound like a child with an attitude problem," Damon defended himself, but no one argued with him. "I'm not a child." As far as the attitude problem…

"So what would you do, Evil Damon? What would be your next move?"

"Well, if it were me, I'd need to lay low somewhere that none of you fun suckers could find me. Preferably somewhere I could be comfortable with a sweet little piece to take my mind off things…" He thought back to when he first returned to Mystic Falls and was scheming around with…

"And preferably with somebody you could compel to do your dirty work, right?" Caroline added for him, with a salty glare.

"Exactly."

"Well, its not like Bonnie can compel herself some new friends, so…" Care started.

"Actually, I think she can," Ric said.

"Wait, what?"

"Well I didn't exactly shoot myself up voluntarily. She told me to and I did."

"But you're on vervaine," Damon reasoned.

"Yeah, but its not like she's a vampire. She's using vampire magic with none of the drawbacks."

"How is _that_ possible?" asked Damon.

"I don't know, I guess her dormant side takes better notes, picked up a few new tricks," Ric sighed. "Regardless, if we don't find her soon it's our Bonnie who's gonna become dormant."

"Can you access student records, like personal files?" Damon asked Ric.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's like Blondie said, Evil Bonnie's probably making new friends. So, there's a certain business major I'm betting is at the top of her list." Damon ground his teeth just thinking about the new guy in Bonnie's life.

He hadn't mentioned to the group what Bonnie had said to him before she'd knocked him out (both times), but he was hoping that whatever connection or bond they shared would allow him to bring her back from the literal dark side. He was starting to think that Detective Barbie and Professor Dumbass may be on to something; maybe it could be his fault that this was happening to Bonnie. It all started with the two of them in New York, or even before that with them in 1994. Whichever way you wanted to look at it Damon was very much in the middle of it. And he felt very much responsible for fixing it. He had promised Bonnie she would be fine and that he would take care of her and now this 'Bonnie B' character was making him break promises and that was unacceptable. He did just fine screwing up on his own, he didn't need any help…

"We're gonna need to surprise her. For real this time. And we're gonna need extra tranquilizers, lots of them. She going down this round."

* * *

Damon listened outside at the front door of the address Ric had pulled from the new guy's file. They were at an apartment complex close to campus. It was still really early and quiet all around. The vampire couldn't hear any movement inside so he put his hand on the doorknob and as quietly as he could broke it off and pushed the door open. He motioned for Alaric to enter the apartment, giving him the universal sign for 'after you.'

"I could get fired for this, you know," he whispered as he crossed the threshold.

"Just don't miss, hurry up," Damon encouraged.

Alaric slowly crept into the house with his loaded tranq gun in front of him. He froze hearing movement from behind a closed door. He slid around the corner and waited for the door to open, praying it would be Bonnie and not another one of his students.

Bonnie opened the bedroom door and backed out of the room, obviously trying to remain silent, but when Ric rounded the corner on her she screamed and dropped to the floor.

"Holy shit, Ric! What the hell?!" she clutched at the sheet she was wrapped in, her hand covering her heart as she gasped for breath. "God, you almost gave me a heart attack," she accused while he was busy trying to figure out whether or not to shoot her.

"Bonnie? Is that the real you or alter you?

"What are you talking about? Yes, it's me. Will you-"

"Bon are you okay-" Gabe threw open his door and stepped out, surprising Alaric causing him to promptly put three tranq darts in his bare chest. Poor Gabe looked down at Bonnie with hurt and betrayal in his eyes before he fell forward, collapsing into Ric who caught his naked form.

Bonnie blew out a sigh from her position squatted on the ground. "Is this really happening right now?"

Ric hefted Gabe's unconscious body over to the living room couch and dumped him face down, tossing a sweatshirt over his bare ass.

"He's not dead right?" Bonnie asked, slowly standing up.

"Of course not, it was just a tranq dart. A couple darts. Are you okay?" he asked turning to look at her.

Bonnie was flushed as she held the sheet tightly around her otherwise nude self. "Haha, my boss and professor just caught me doing the walk of shame and then shot the guy I apparently slept with last night. I'm not even close to okay Ric."

"Well you could've had your nose broken in three places," Damon called from the open doorway where he'd witnessed the whole ordeal. Bonnie gasped realizing Damon had watched the whole thing.

"Seriously, you two? God!" she stooped and snatched up the pile of clothes she'd dropped on the floor and slipped back into the bedroom.

"What'd I say?" Damon asked indignantly.

"I think that could've gone better," Ric confessed. "I almost wish it had been 'FunBun' instead."

"Did you have to shoot him Ric? How am I supposed to compel him to forget us from out here?"

"It'll wear off in a few hours, calm down." Alaric dropped onto a bean bag chair.

Bonnie came from the bedroom dressed and demanding answers. "Okay someone wanna tell me what happened? How'd I get here from your basement?"

"It's a really long story, Bonnie," said Ric.

"You broke out, you beat us up, and then you took off," Damon summed up, leaning on the doorjamb.

"And then there's the short version," nodded Ric.

"What the hell is the extended version? Did you figure out who's taking over my body? Is it travelers? Kai?

"Not quite."

"Then who?

"It's you," Damon called over.

"Me?" Bonnie looked back and forth between Damon and Ric, expecting one of them to deliver a punchline. "But I can't remember doing any of that. The last thing I remember is talking with Stefan in the cell. How can _I_ be doing this?"

"Believe me, we've been asking the same question. Now, if we could just get out of here, we could get to the bottom of things," Damon said trying to get them moving.

"We can't just leave him here like this. Can we?" Bonnie looked over at the sleeping Gabe.

"I don't know, you think he'll remember Professor Saltzman shooting him in the chest?"

Bonnie bit her lip. "Maybe we should wait till he wakes up."

"That could take forever, just bring him with us."

"Damon, I'm pretty sure that's kidnapping," Alaric pointed out.

"Not when it's her boyfriend," Damon said, his mouth pinched and sour.

"First of all, that's definitely still kidnapping," Bonnie crossed over to the doorway, "and second he is not my boyfriend."

"This is two nights in a row," Damon spat at her.

"I…" Bonnie had nothing to say to that. She was hurt by his words, by his implication. "Fine, bring him, whatever. I'll be downstairs." She moved for the door.

"Damon, she can't-"

"I got it, Ric," Damon stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"What are you doing? Get outta my way," Bonnie said, trying to get around him.

"We are trying to protect you, to help you. But we can't do that if you run off again." Damon could see she was hurting and he tried to soften his tone, but it burned him, hurt him knowing that she'd been with that punk Gabe again. That he was the one she turned to, or rather that her alter ego turned to. It was confusing and Damon and hated feeling confused; he'd much rather feel nothing.

"Bonnie please," Ric begged, "don't make me dress this guy alone." Bonnie heaved a sigh, glared at Damon once and then slammed the door in his face. She stomped off into the bedroom slamming that door behind her too.

"Was that a yes, or….?" Ric asked but before he could panic too much Bonnie came from the room with a pair of basketball shorts and a sweat shirt.

"Alright, let's do this." Together she and Alaric wrestled the unconscious and naked Gabe into the shorts, and zipped him into the sweatshirt. Bonnie found one of several pairs of shoes laying on the floor and shoved them on his feet. She grabbed up things, finally ready to go.

"Bonnie, I can't just carry him out of here in broad daylight, I'd probably be arrested," Ric worried.

"For Christ's sake Ric, then why did we just get him dressed?" Bonnie snapped.

"Because I was tired of looking at his naked thighs?" Ric shrugged.

"Just pick him up, I'll handle the rest," she told him, then opened the front door. Looking up at Damon leaned up against the wall, she said "Why don't you make yourself useful. Go start the car." She handed over his keys.

"Gladly, Bossy."

Bonnie muttered a quick incantation before Ric stepped out of the apartment and to any casual observer it looked like he had a large backpack over his shoulder and not a six foot six college junior.

"It's an illusion, you're fine, let's go," Bonnie closed the door and followed them to the car where Damon had the trunk opened and ready.

"Where's boyfriend?" Damon asked.

"I told you," Bonnie said as Ric dumped Gabe into the trunk and he reappeared before Damon's eyes. "Not my boyfriend." She slammed the trunk shut. "Me and Ric will meet you at the boarding house, come on Ric."

She started off to the truck, but Damon grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going? I told you you can't go running off!"

"I'm not running off, I'm riding with Alaric," she said through gritted teeth as she fought to free her arm from his tight grasp.

"So you can go psycho on him again, I don't think so. You can ride with me."

"And if I go psycho on you?" she threatened.

"I'm an immortal vampire, _I_ can handle it."

"Fine! Just let go of me!" His palm burst into flame and he yelped pulling his hand back quickly. She shoved around him and got into the passenger seat, once again slamming the door.

"What the hell is her problem?" Damon hissed, smothering the fire out on his jeans.

"I don't know, but maybe you should stop antagonizing her before she flips again," Alaric suggested. "Think you two can be civil for an hour or two?"

"Hey, I'm a friggin ray of sunshine compared to Miss Sassy Pants over there, she started it!"

"Damon," his friend warned.

"Alright, alright. I get it. Civil."

"I'll check in with Stefan and Care to see if they found the book and maybe a way to fix all this. See you back at the house." Ric turned and made for his car, but looked back and mouthed "APOLOGIZE!" pointing at the car.

Damon shrugged "For what?" back before waving him off and climbing into the Camaro.

They rode in silence for a few miles before Damon finally turned the radio on. Hearing the rock station, Bonnie immediately sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What?" he said, irritated that she was giving him the silent treatment. She just shrugged her shoulders.

Two whole minutes passed before Bonnie couldn't take it anymore. She reached out and mashed the preset button for the Top 40s station and the radio switched to a FloRida song.

Damon wasn't actively trying to antagonize her, but no way was he riding all the way to Mystic Falls listening to that crap. He swiftly changed the station back, but Bonnie just changed it again.

"Will you stop changing my radio?"

"Will you play something that doesn't suck?" she fired back.

"Why don't you say what's really on your mind, huh?"

"Why don't you? You're the one that's had a bug up his ass from the moment you got to that apartment. It's like you're blaming me for something I didn't do."

"But you did do it Bonnie. It _was_ you, like it or not."

"But… I do not remember it. I wouldn't have done any of those things if I'd had any choice in the matter."

"You may not remember her, but she is you. You should've seen her," he actually chuckled a bit. "She's quite the badass."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. Your subconscious is totally twisted. And she kicked my ass. Twice."

"Get out," Bonnie smiled.

"Super powerful. She's a fighter, you have that much in common," he told her. "Although, I guess you have everything in common since she is you and all."

"This is insane, how is this happening to me?" she put her head in her hands.

"Ric thinks he knows where to look. Stef and Caroline are…. Following up the lead now."

"Following up the lead? That's pretty cryptic."

"We- well, I don't think it's a good idea to share any of the details with you. Just in case…"

"Just in case I pull a Mr. Hyde and Hulk out on you again. Makes sense," she nodded and rested her cheek on her fist.

Damon glanced over at her. This Bonnie was so at odds with 'the other' Bonnie. She looked so defeated and helpless. Last night, onstage, she'd been alive and sexy and in control, unstoppable. What could he say to give her that again. Maybe this was his chance to start over and do the things he should have done and say the things he should have said in the first place. Help her understand.

"Bonnie, listen-"

"I'm sorry I set you on fire," she cut him off.

"Pffft, no you're not. You're never sorry for setting me on fire," he rolled his eyes.

"Ugh," she paused wanting to contradict him but knowing he was right. "True. But it's the thought that counts. So, sorry." She went back to looking out the window.

"Apology accepted. But Bonnie I was just gonna say-" he started again but was once more interrupted, this time by kicking and banging coming from the trunk.

"Help, somebody help me! Please! HEEELP!" came Gabe's muffled cries.

"You see, this is exactly why I prefer moving corpses," Damon cursed.

Bonnie just shook her head, grateful for the distraction. She knew what Damon would say so she didn't need to hear it. She turned up the radio, drowning out Gabe and killing whatever moment they could have had with a song by someone they both liked. P!nk


	15. Chapter 15: Psych 101

Psych 101

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I don't really see another option."

"We could find another option."

"We've been through this ten times, the longer we wait the more likely my alter ego comes back. We've got to get out in front of this," Bonnie argued with Damon yet again. She was pacing back and forth across the Salvatore's library, highly on edge, scared to death that at any moment she would turn into some kind of freak and start throwing her friends around the room. She wanted to fix it, she wanted to know that the people she loved were safe, she wanted to be rid of this constant anxiety. What she wanted was a shot of whiskey but she didn't think that would help the situation.

They had been going over things for several hours, ever since they'd arrived. Well, they had given her a small respite to get cleaned up, put on a fresh change of clothes, and grab a cup of coffee before really getting down to business.

In the time it took Damon and Ric to track down Gabe's apartment, find Bonnie and drive back to Mystic Falls, Caroline Forbes had managed to create a slideshow illustrating with diagrams Bonnie's mental breakdown.

"Freud believed an individual's psyche was basically composed of three theoretical constructs; the id, the ego, and the superego. The Superego," Care clicked to a slide featuring Bonnie's face with a halo above her head," is the organized part of your psyche. It includes your ideals, spiritual goals, and more or less your conscience. Questions so far?" Damon raised his hand and bounced up and down in his seat whispering 'pick me pick me!' "Great, moving on." She ignored him completely and clicked to the next slide.

"Now the id," this slide included not only a photo of Bonnie with devil horns on her head, it also featured video clips of her singing karaoke in New York and from just last night at the coffee house. Bonnie barely recognized the girl onstage, she looked so different from the way she usually put herself together, totally carefree.

"Care, you filmed me? Her? Us? I mean me! Ugh, you know what I mean."

"No, actually. That one came off of Instagram. You've got a lot of interesting new followers by the way. Now the id is the source of bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives."

"So when she-" Damon started.

"If we could just hold all questions until the end, thanks," Caroline was on a roll now. "Lastly, the ego provides the balance between the superego and the id." She clicked forward to a slide with a picture of Bonnie taken two days ago just before the book reading. She was wearing her new blazer and looking very smart like a good college student and not a 'battles with vampires' psychotic freak. "The ego provides your reasoning and control, function and memory."

"So basically when you're blacking out your id or Fun Bon, is taking control of your body and brain, overruling both the ego and superego for a change," Ric surmised.

"Right, so I just have to get my id back under control. Anyone know to do that?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, I was gonna get to that part, but someone jumped ahead!" Care glared at Ric and skipped her presentation forward to a slide title ' _WTF?!: What's the Fix?'_ "Me and my lovely assistant here have found a spell that will allow you to communicate with your inner self." She winked over at Stefan sitting quietly nearby watching the presentation, knowing better than to interrupt.

"Okay and then what?" Damon finally got a word in. "She's just supposed to politely ask her psychotic alter ego to just get back in the box?"

"First, she's not an alter _ego_ she's an id, I just said that. And second… yeah. Talk to her, tell her to chill the freak out. She won't listen to us, but maybe she will listen to reason… get it? Because you're the ego and that's the reasoning…" she waited for her joke to get a laugh from someone and only Stefan obliged, but he was laughing at her and not the punchline.

She rolled her eyes and took a seat next to him on the couch. "What? I thought it was very funny," he said pulling her back into his embrace and kissing the side of her head. The pair were so cute together Bonnie had to look away.

"So. What do you think?" Care asked the group.

"Well, I think that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard," Damon pushed to his feet, glad to finally have the floor open for comments. "Did you see her last night? This witch has no boundaries and we have no way of controlling her and you want to open that can of crazy _again?_ No, I say we find a spell to get rid of the Iddy Bitty Psycho for good."

"We can't just get rid of her, Damon," Ric replied. "She's literally a part of Bonnies personality. If we 'got rid of her' Bonnie could lose everything that makes her… her. Who knows what we'd be left with."

Bonnie sighed. "Well then I guess we have a plan. How's the spell work?"

Care passed her the book they had found in Bonnie's things at the dorm. "It says it offers the user a window into the soul. I figure we'll- well you'll cast the spell on a mirror so you can see you inner self. You talk to her, get this all straightened out, you reverse the spell, and then the crazy cat is back in the bag."

"Okay, let's do it."

They helped her set up a circle of candles and herbs in the center of the library. Stefan went and retrieved a huge full length mirror from his bedroom while Damon and Alaric reloaded their tranq guns. Bonnie hoped they wouldn't be necessary; She had concocted an elixir that would neutralize her powers after the spell was cast, just in case her inner selfs reflection got carried away. It wouldn't last long, eventually it would wear off, restoring her magic, but this way there'd be no danger to her friends.

"Last chance Bon Bon. You don't have to do this," Damon reminded her again.

"You're not scared are you Damon?" Bonnie teased, trying to play off her nerves.

"Scared? Of you? Puh-lease, not on your life, Witchy." He played it off right back, but his electric blue eyes were anything but joking. He was worried this wouldn't end well. For any of them.

"Then what's got you so nervous, Salvatore?" she asked, trying to read his expression.

"Bonnie, I just…" he was so close to telling her then. So close to just grabbing her and running away from all this mess, so close to letting himself… But standing there with Stefan and Ric and the Blonde Wonder all watching every move he made, he couldn't do it. It could wait. "I just wonder how wise it is to go with a Forbes plan, she's got like a 20% success rate."

"Hey! This is a good plan and as I recall it's the only plan we've got," Care said in her own defense.

"She's right, it'll be fine." Bonnie reached out and squeezed his hand before stepping into the circle of candles and neatly sitting in the middle across from the large mirror.

Truth is Bonnie was freaking out a little bit. She had no idea what her inner self would look like, what she would say. In fact she was a little intimidated. _I'm intimidated by myself?_ Bonnie thought. She laughed shaking her head at her reflection. _Get over it Bennett, woman up_ , she gave herself a small pep talk. She peeked down at the book one last time before starting the incantation.

Damon protectively stood just outside the candlelit bubble. He could feel the exact moment the air around them changed. It grew thick and heavy, like a storm was brewing inside of the old mansion. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he glanced across the circle to Stefan on the other side and they shared a look loaded with doubt.

The weary older vampire watched as Bonnie kicked the unintelligible chanting up a notch, rocking back and forth as a sudden cold gust of wind erupted from nowhere blowing around the room chaotically. The light fixtures flickered on and off while the air visibly cycloned over Bonnie's magic circle.

"Bonnie!" he shouted, stepping forward to snap her out of the spell, but before he could cross the line of candles he was thrown backward ten feet crashing into a couch. The candle flames jumped up five feet high and everyone outside of the ring of fire threw their hands up shielding their eyes. The cyclone of air transformed into a swirl of blinding white light as Bonnie finished shouting the incantation over the storm.

The mystical light show faded away and the candles quickly blew out and Damon was finally able to reopen his eyes. Through the haze of dust and smoke he could make out Bonnie laying passed out in the middle of the ring. Immediately he was on his feet but he stopped just shy of reaching her, his jaw hanging open in shock.

"Bonnie?"


	16. Chapter 16: Three's a Crowd

Three's a Crowd

"Bonnie?" came Damon's concerned voice through a ringing in her ears. She felt like she'd been smacked in the face with a frying pan. Bonnie clenched her eyes shut tight to keep the room from spinning as she tried to sit up.

"Bonnie?" Damon asked again.

"Yes?" Her hoarse voice echoed. She opened her eyes and found Damon staring at her with worry shadowing his features.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"No I'm not okay, I feel like goddamn Humpty Dumpty when someone pushed his ass of the wall."

Bonnie's irritated voice came from beside her and she turned to her left to see a woman sitting next to her. She gasped out loud and nearly choked on her tongue.

The woman was her. She was looking at herself. And not in the mirror like the spell was supposed to do. She was flesh and bone and sitting next to her.

Bonnie's eyes quickly took in everything about she could about the woman. She had Bonnie's face but it was made up with dark smoky eye shadow and dark plum lips. The piercings distracted her for a moment as she counted them: eyebrow, septum, and 4 or 5 in each ear. She wore long blonde box braids lazily piled up on top of her and spilling down her back. Bonnie's scrutinizing gaze dropped down to her outfit. She wore what looked like Bonnie's favorite leather jacket, cutoff overall shorts, ripped black fishnets, a purple tube top and matching bright purple Doc Martens.

This girl seriously looked like bad news; like someone who would come out on top in a bar brawl.

But Bonnie didn't have time to open her mouth and form a sentence before she heard her voice again, this time coming from her right side. She whipped her head around to see another woman sitting up beside her. "Must you use such profanity? Ugh, it's so vulgar. Surely our vocabulary isn't as limited as you would have it seem."

Bonnie's hand flew to her mouth as her head whipped back and forth looking at the two versions of herself.

The second version of herself was about as opposite of the first one as it was possible to be. She wore a simple white eyelet blouse with a beige cardigan and a pleated black skirt. Her dark hair was pulled back into a bun at the base of her neck. She wore no jewelry other than a necklace with a cross pendant that Bonnie recognized. Her dad had given it to her when she was 12 and she hadn't worn it in years.

"Bonnie?" Damon insisted trying to get her to focus on him.

"Yeah?" "Yes?" "What?" her voice rang out from three separate mouths.

"I meant the real Bonnie," Damon clarified.

"I am the real Bonnie," the two new Bonnies said in unison.

"Okay, this is so weird," Care's voice whispered. She stood looking down at the three of them, eyes wide.

"What the hell Care? 'Window to my soul, huh?'" Bonnie gestured at the new comers.

"I guess it turned out to be more like a doorway," she shrugged, wincing at how badly her plan had gone off course.

"You don't say," Bonnie reached for Damon's outstretched hand and let him pull her to her feet.

"Are you just going to stand there Professor or are you going to help me up?" The Bonnie in the blouse asked.

Ric just looked at Damon and Bonnie with no clue what to do next.

"Seriously Madame Tight Ass?" the darker side of Bonnie climbed to her feet and dusted off her jacket. She walked over to Blouse Bonnie and yanked her up. "God you're useless. What is she even doing here? This has nothing to do with her."

"Oh sure, keep right on trying to ignore me, it is what you do best isn't it."

"Who are you?" asked Damon.

"You're really not the brightest one are you? We could do so much better," she said.

"She's the judgey control freak and I'm the passionate, creative, lover of the bunch," the braided Bonnie sashayed over to Damon and let her fingertips trail down his chest. "Isn't that right, honey?"

"Excuse me?" Bonnie's eyes bugged open. "What the hell is this?" she demanded gesturing between Damon and his new fan club president.

"Bonnie it's not what it looks like, she's just trying to piss you off," Damon said, brushing the wandering fingers off of him.

"Now why would I do that?" she smiled evilly before going over and pouring herself a drink.

"Oh, I don't know, because you're an evil psychopath?" Damon answered.

"She's not evil, she's simply a huge bitch. See, I can have a potty mouth as well."

"OKAY! Just. Wait. How are- why-" Bonnie took a deep breath. "What is going on?"

"You're the one that cast the spell hotshot, you tell us," Bitchy Bonnie pulled off her jacket and plopped down on the couch, spilling her drink a bit, feet kicked up.

"Well I only cast the spell because somebody's been hijacking my body and ruining my life!"

"Our life," the new Bonnie's said together.

"Yeah, you might have control of the reins but you're not the only one living this life," Bitchy Bonnie pointed out.

"No, but _you_ are the only one ruining it. What's the problem, we had a good thing going for 20 years and now all of a sudden you're freaking out all over the place," Bonnie accused... herself.

"How am I ruining our life? I'm just making our life interesting again! Don't blame me because _you two_ are scared to go after what we really want."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Bonnie exclaimed, but her Control Freak side cut in.

"Scared? I beg to differ. I just happen to know when enough is enough. Besides you and your 'desires' cause nothing but trouble for us and then we are left cleaning up your emotional distress."

"Well excuse me for having feelings, you cold-hearted bitch!"

"Real mature, resorting to name calling. Great argument for you being the leading force here."

"Screw you Judgey!"

"Why, seems like everybody else is already screwing _you_." Judgey Bonnie quipped back.

"You want me to kick your ass don't you!" Bitchy Bonnie jumped off the couch and lunged for her Judgey counterpart.

"Whoa there Tiger!" Damon jumped between them, holding the scrappy Bonnie back. "Cool it will you."

"You're gonna let her talk about us like that? What the hell Damon?"

"Well, it's not like she's wrong," Caroline spoke, defending one third of her best friend. "You're out running around and acting like a crazy person."

"What? I'm not crazy. I'm a goddamn prisoner of war!" Bitchy Bonnie yelled. "They do everything they can to keep me locked away and under control. I'm just out here trying to survive!"

"You're trying to survive? You're the one that attacked us unprovoked," Caroline argued and Judgey Bonnie nodded her agreement.

"I warned Stefan not to engage, I told you guys she was dangerous," Damon defended Bitchy Bonnie to the old Bonnie's surprise.

"Wait a minute, it's not like I was trying to kill her. We were trying to help you Bonnie," Stefan spoke up.

"By knocking me out and dragging me back to your cell, like a _prisoner_? Yeah, I don't think so," Bitchy Bon had her hip stuck out and her arms crossed over her chest, with a look that dared anybody to try her again.

Bonnie had had enough. "Okay, everybody just calm down. Alright? Nobody's locking anyone away or knocking anyone out. Just take a breath." She stood between Damon and Bitchy on one side and Caroline and the Judgey one on the other. She needed to figure out how to get rid of them, to get things back to normal. Starting with her biggest problem: her Bitchy side.

"Okay, so you," she pointed not knowing what to call her, "you said you feel like we've been locking you away. What makes you feel that way?"

"Seriously, Oprah, you have to ask?" Bitchy went back to sit on the couch.

"Humor me," she said rolling her eyes.

"We never do anything fun anymore. You don't go out, you don't date. And then anytime you slip up and let me breathe for half a second, here comes this bitch with the slut shaming!"she threw a glare at the Controlling Bonnie.

"Oh poor you. Do you need a hug?" Controlling Bonnie said, somehow conveying her sarcasm with zero inflection in her voice.

"Do you see that?! How am I supposed to live with that all the time?"

"I go out. Sometimes. Don't I?" Bonnie looked to Caroline to back her up.

"Well, up until recently you were in a bit of a, you know slump," Care admitted.

"A bit of a slump? Every single day for almost two weeks we sat in that dump of an office researching ancient witchcraft and blah blah blah. I was bored out of my mind!"

"Well excuse us for being college students and, you know studying. That is what we are there for not slutting around campus with loser vampires with nothing going for them," was Judgey's defense.

"Ouch," said the three vampires in the room.

"My apologies, I was only referring to _that_ loser vampire," Judgey pointed at Damon.

"Hey! What the hell did I ever do to you?" Damon asked, offended by the loser jab.

"Absolutely nothing. I believe that is the point," she neatly took a seat next to her darker half on the sofa.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"It means you broke my heart, you dick," Bitchy answered.

"Leaving me to pick up the pieces and redirect our attentions to activities that would provide a better use for our time than pining after boys. We should be studying and raising our GPA. Do you even realize how much class time we have missed dealing with drama all the time? Our father would turn over in his grave if we didn't finish school. So, I will get us across that stage if it kills me."

"Ugh, what do we need a degree for? We could move to New York, start our singing career, get signed by Jay-Z!"

"Please, what the odds of that ever happening? Like 1 in 2 million?" Judgey rolled her eyes.

"What were the odds of us coming back from the dead? Twice? Like nil, but we did it!"

"Well, technically we only came back from the _dead_ once…"

"Everything is always so technical with you, geez." The Fun Bon turned in her seat and grabbed a new glass and filled it.

"Okay, okay, okay," Bonnie had to get them back on track. "So that's why you're breaking out, you feel repressed. I'm sorry about that. But _how_ have you been breaking out?"

"Well usually I don't have to try so freaking hard. Before I had releases, you know. I had cheerleading, I had friends, we learned magic, and we were good... And then we wound up in a prison world with only one person to keep us company: my best friend's vampire boyfriend. The love of _her_ life who, let's face it, we all hated." Judgey nodded in agreement. "But then we spent four months alone together and we started to see what Elena saw in him, began to understand how she could fall for him. And it's not like the physical attraction to him was anything new. Prudy Trudy over there just finally let up enough for us to enjoy it a little."

"It was hard to care about maintaining our image when everyone we knew was gone," Judgey had a far off look like she was remembering their time in 1994 differently.

"Well, anyway she eased up and Damon managed to get you to let down your walls altogether and suddenly I was free!" Fun Bon smiled wide.

"The night you begged me to give you a tattoo and then screamed at me about it later," Damon filled in with his side of the memory.

"Oh no, lover, not me- them. They screamed at you about it," Fun Bon pointed out the other two Bonnies.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was to let a guy who doesn't even have a tattooing license, put a needle in us? Do you know what kind of diseases we could gotten? With zero medical practitioners available? And that tattoo is now permanent, what are we supposed to tell our future husband? Our kids?" exclaimed Judgey.

Bonnie just rolled her eyes. She'd gotten over the shock of waking up tatted ages ago, in fact she now thought it was pretty cool. She even liked that Damon had designed it.

"Oh please, you weren't in any danger, I'm a licensed tattoo artist circa 1976, so suck it Judgey!" Damon said.

"Right, and when was the last time that license was renewed? Caroline asked. Damon shrugged at the technicality.

"Exactly, thank you Caroline," Judgey Bonnie said.

"Yeah, whatever-" Bitchy Bon started, but Bonnie interrupted her.

"So, that was the first time you were totally out and in control?" she asked.

"No, actually, you don't remember Care's party? Oh, of course you don't."

"My party? What party?" asked Caroline.

"I threw you a party on your birthday. Cake, presents, the works. I couldn't just not celebrate," Bonnie explained to her best friend who looked like she was going to tear up.

"Only she forgot the birthday candles and started freaking out," Damon added.

"Caroline would have never forgotten the candles," commented Judgey.

"Anyway, _that_ was the first night me and Damon got to really hang out," Fun Bon said.

"You never told me about that," Bonnie said to Damon.

"Didn't know I had to. I figured you were just being prudy and wanted to pretend it didn't happen. We got shitfaced and danced all night long."

"I just wish I remembered it."

"Believe me, you had fun. And I needed that. We needed that. We were trapped in hell and us getting out depended on getting our magic back. That's some serious pressure. But being with Damon wasn't so bad after all, was it? We might've been stuck in hell but we had some good times."

Bonnie thought back on the time she'd spent with Damon. They'd been cut off from the world, he annoyed her endlessly, and yet it was true that she had fond memories of their time together there.

"And then this one decided to sacrifice everything and send him back to keep Kai from getting out," Fun Bon gave Judgey a glare.

"What were we supposed to do, just let an actual psychopathic serial killer out of prison?" Judgey said.

"You shouldn't have sent me away," Damon answered. "We could've found a way to stop Kai, together. And leave _together."_

"We'd finally found a way out and I thought I was gonna die that day. I couldn't just let you be trapped there. I couldn't do that to you. Or to Elena."

"But you could do that to yourself? Why?"

"To get you home to your girl," Bonnie said crossing over to Fun Bon and taking the glass from her, refilling it, and swallowing a huge gulp.

"We were supposed to get home together."

"But no!" Fun Bon interrupted. "And then Kai left us in freaking 1994. Alone. For almost 5 months. And suddenly there was no more escape for me. There was only you two surviving the silence... without me. I died over there!" she screamed, tears running down her face. She paused a minute letting that sink in. "I died so that you could remain sane. You crushed me and you suffocated me for 5 months over there. Once again sacrificing your happiness for the greater good!" she took a look around at the faces in the room. " _That's_ what we do best isn't it?" she took her drink back and finished it.

"Well, it worked did it not? We made it out," Judgey said quietly.

"Oh you made it out alright. But you left me there. It wasn't the same after that. You left me alone and silenced, bound and gagged, even after we got out of there. Why!?" she demanded.

"It was so hard, coming back," Bonnie was in silent tears now as well, she could barely breathe remembering the panic attacks she'd suffered right after her return. "It was all I could do just to appear normal. I was trying to put the pieces of my life back together and I- I- I- I couldn't…."

"I couldn't let her feel all that pain. I couldn't let us go through that daily! I couldn't allow us to feel what you felt there, out here. How would that look? Besides, it's not like it would've changed anything!" Judgey Bonnie stood and walked across the room away from the group.

"What's she mean Bonnie?" Stefan asked softly after about a minute or so.

But Bonnie couldn't say it, she couldn't say anything, she was still choking on her sobs, shaking her head.

"I did what I had to," Judgey whispered. She turned back to Bonnie and took her hand pulling her to the couch and wrapping her arms around the shaking shoulders of the old Bonnie, cradling her head on her chest. "Just as I always do." Fun Bon joined them and together the two new Bonnies hugged and comforted each other, wiping the others tears away.

"I'm such a mess," said Bonnie's voice from three mouths.

"I know," she said in unison again, laughing at each other.

"That still doesn't explain how… Fun Bon was able to break free…" Alaric said. He'd been quietly observing the whole ordeal from the corner.

Bonnie was grateful no one asked her to pick up where she'd left off.

"Well. Months and months went by before anything changed," Fun Bon continued with her story. "And then my best friend, Caroline here wound up kidnapped by a group of heretics who demanded we find an oracle in exchange for her return."

Judgey Bon picked up the story. "And in order to locate the oracle which had once been in Grams' possession, we did a channeling spell. But we were so blocked and repressed that the spell worked in more ways than one."

"Channeling Grams' spirit freed me," Fun Bon smiled. "It was like coming up for air after being underwater for like a year!"

"I remember feeling alive again, feeling joy again," Bonnie said and she squeezed Fun Bon's hand. "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Sure was. I was just so damn happy to be awake again, just to witness life, to influence life again," Fun Bon laughed.

"That was the night…." Damon stopped, swallowing hard.

"The night we finally told you how we felt and you dismissed us," Judgey Bonnie finished for him. "Yes, that's exactly right. You broke our heart."

"I knew you were possessed." Damon mumbled. "I told you so..."

"And just like that I was back in the cage." Fun Bon glared at him.

"Boys are a distraction anyway, like I said we had better things to focus on, like trying to graduate on time," said Judgey Bon.

"At my expense as always. But we were miserable. Until Caroline suggested a road trip to New York, and then a bottle of tequila later I was back in business."

"Wreaking havoc and stirring up trouble," Judgey said.

"So a channeling spell and tequila? That's how you got you out?" Caroline asked.

"What can I say? Tequila makes me slutty. And after that night in New York, I realized how strong I'd gotten."

"Yeah about that, how are your powers stronger than Bonnie's?" Stefan asked.

"Ugh, my powers _are_ Bonnie's powers. I'm just not afraid to use them. I'm a Bennett witch. I can pretty much do anything I want. But she knows that. And she shies away from it, scared that all that power will corrupt her, change her. But that power is our birth right. Use it or lose it baby!"

"And what about your... friend, Gabe? Where does he fit into all this?" asked Ric.

"Oh god Gaaaabe. Ooooh, he is so hot, don't you just wanna-" Fun Bon wagged her tongue and snapped her teeth together, "eat him up?"

"You're disgusting," Judgey Bon muttered.

"That's all he was then? A fling? He's not like doing your wicked witch bidding?"

"Uh do you any idea how long it's been since I'd gotten laid? Ha, I had that boy doing my bidding all night, if you know what I mean," Fun Bon laughed, lewdly pumping her pelvis up and down.

"O-kay, thank you," Bonnie stopped her before she shared any more details. "So that's it. That's how you got here."

"Yep and now here we are, a cozy little _threesome_ ," Fun Bon said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at Damon.

"Well, great. Now how do we get rid of you?" Damon asked.

"I tell you what lover," Fun Bon stood and strutted over to where Damon sat on the arm of a couch. "I will leave voluntarily-"

"Great! Buh-bye!"

"Yeah, just as soon as you tell Bonnie Cakes here the truth." She was in his space now, standing between his knees with her hands stroking his face, his neck, his shoulders.

"What truth?" Damon asked.

"Playing dumb again. I seriously do not understand the attraction," Judgey Bon said shaking her head.

"The truth about everything. You tell her and you can put all of this behind you," Fun Bon whispered to him.

"Damon?" Bonnie rose from the sofa. "What's she talking about?"

Fun Bon let her hands slide down Damon's arms to his wrists and she stepped back pulling him up.

"The truth about what?" Bonnie asked again as Judgey Bon stood up and flanked Bonnie on her right and Fun Bon stepped back and joined Bonnie on her left.

Damon was left staring at Bonnie's three very different selves, all of them demanding answers. He looked to Stefan for help, but his brother only gestured like 'go on'.

"Uh," he cleared his throat. "Bonnie there's something I've been wanting to tell you. About New York."


	17. Chapter 17: The Big Talk

The Big Talk

"Can you all give us a minute?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, we'll clear out," Stef said moving for the hallway.

"But I wanna hear…" Caroline whispered as Stefan gently herded her from the room.

"Are you sure?" Ric asked, giving Fun Bon a wary look.

"Yeah, thanks bud," Damon said. "We'll be fine, right Bonnie?"

"No promises, loverboy," Fun Bon told him.

Damon sent a glare her way and asked Bonnie, "Can't we talk alone?"

"Not on your life pal," Fun Bon smirked. "I ain't goin' no where."

"Surely anything you have to say to one of us can be said to all of us," the Judgey Bon agreed.

"It's cool with me," Bonnie said. The two other Bonnie's stepped back and sat on the plush sofa, crossing their right leg over their left in eerie synchronicity.

Damon sighed and dragged a hand down his face. This whole day had put him through the wringer. First picking Bonnie up from yet another sleepover with some guy, then watching her go through with that spell, only to have it backfire and release not one but two alternate versions of Bonnie. He felt like his head was gonna explode and the hard part was only just beginning.

He looked at the three women with one face and three very different personalities. Judgey on the left looking like a stern librarian and the Fun Bon on the right looking like she'd just left a rave. And then Bonnie in the middle, familiar as always with her hazel green eyes in slits and her face reading 'what the hell did you do now?'.

"Well?" she said, prompting him to begin.

"Well. I've been trying to find an opportune time to bring up the fact that I may have… downplayed to some extent… exactly what… occurred between you and I in New York. Or was it _you_ and I?" he asked Fun Bon. "I'm really confused."

"Just cut the bullshit and say it," Bonnie said.

"When I told you that we only made out that night… I lied," he finally confessed.

"Oh my god, I knew it!" Bonnie exploded. "I knew you were lying, hell Caroline knew you were lying! How could you not tell me we had sex Damon?! I can't believe you'd _lie_ about something like that-"

"Whoa, no no no no no no, we didn't have _the sex._ I mean, not like 'all the way.'"

"You sucked his dick didn't you?!" Bonnie whirled around and jabbed her finger at Fun Bon.

"Oh come on! You see! This is exactly why we can't take you anywhere," Judgey said with a look of disgust on her face.

"Hold up, first and foremost there is nothing wrong wit' suckin' a dick. It is a healthy form of sexual expression, thank you, and I don't appreciate you implying that me sucking one dick somehow makes a ho, I mean come on it is 2016! And furthermore -"

"She didn't go down on me, alright!" Damon interrupted before Fun Bon could make things worse.

"That's right!" Fun Bon said with a little 'in your face' action at Judgey.

"I'm the one that went down on her," he blurted out, ripping off the band-aid. " _Because_ I thought it was you!"

Bonnie looked a little shell shocked. Several times she opened her mouth to say something but she'd shake her head and try to come up with something else. Damon didn't know what else to say so he stood there letting the silence go on, and on waiting for her to speak.

"Well this isn't awkward," Judgey commented.

Bonnie wanted to ask a million questions like why and… okay mostly just why. But she wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer. She knew what he'd say and it churned her stomach to think about it. She thought about asking why he would lie about it, but she figured she knew the answer to that one too. It was obvious he regretted it. And he hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings or risk pissing off the only witch left on his side. And she was pissed. Pissed that she'd let him hurt her like he had, she should've known that would happen. So what the hell was she supposed to do now.

"Someone has to say something…" Damon said softly.

"You thought _that_ was me?" Bonnie asked.

"Technically it was..." Damon hedged.

"I can't even talk to you right now," Bonnie sighed.

"Oh come on, that is such bullshit. This is exactly why we are all in this mess, because you two-" Fun Bon pointed at Damon and Bonnie "- keep refusing to talk to each other and say what you want."

"It doesn't matter what I want, he's already made his feelings very clear, he just wants to be friends and I have to respect that choice," said Bonnie.

"You don't _have to_ respect that load of crap, I know I don't!" Fun Bon was on her feet and she was angry now. "This isn't fair! Damon tell them! Tell them what you told me!"

"Bonnie I-"

"Stop. You don't have to say it; I get it, okay. I know how much you love Elena and that you're just waiting for me to bite it so you can be with her and I'm sorry she's gone Damon, I'm sorry it's my fault-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, have you lost your mind?" Damon asked. "Well, I mean obviously you have, but seriously? That's what you think?"

"That kind of love doesn't just go away, I get that."

"Look, you're right. I was in love with Elena. And yes I thought that it was that forever love that people write about in stories and songs or whatever. But everything we had was… it was built on betrayal and guilt and secrecy and lies. Not to mention the whole thing was literally doomed from the start. I was never 'meant to be' with Elena Gilbert. I fought so long and hard to get the girl and win the prize that, well after 1994 happened…After you sacrificed yourself so that I could go home to the girl of my dreams… I don't know, I felt obligated to keep fighting for her. After all the time and effort and all I had put my brother through, to just give up? But there came a point where I just couldn't fight fate anymore. And I gave up. I gave up on me and Elena a while ago."

Bonnie listened to his speech over the pounding of her heart. "Why didn't you ever tell me that?

"Because," he shrugged. "I was… worried how it would look. For what it's worth me and Elena were friends once and I do care about her, deeply. And I… I feel so guilty… which is a bit new for me."

"Guilty for what?"

"For not letting us go before she landed in a magical coma because of me, with her life tethered to the life of her best friend. Our best friend, a witch with a sneaky little knack for escaping death….. A witch that everyday I've been falling more in love with," he grinned.

"Me?" Bonnie asked just to be sure.

"Yes, you Bennett," he laughed. "No, offense to you two," he nodded at the other Bonnies.

"None taken," they chanted together smiling like little kids.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Bonnie felt so confused her head was spinning. Everything she'd thought for the last few weeks had been turned upside down.

"Bonnie if anything like that ever happened to you I'd die. And yes that sounds over dramatic, I heard it, but it's the truth. Every woman I have ever loved has been taken from me. And as much as I love you, I just want you to be safe," he took her hand in his, gently smoothing his thumbs over her knuckles. Her eyes drifted shut and she swayed slightly at the feel of his touch. "I've been trying so hard to keep you safe."  
"I can take care of myself. I always have."

"I know."

"And I don't always need rescuing, that's so medieval. I mean, okay sometimes…"

"I know that."

"I mean, if you think about it how many times have I actually saved _your_ ass?!"

"Would you just shut up and -" he bent his head down and pulled her face gently up to meet his and kissed her.

Bonnie held on to him, wrapping her arms around him she melted against him, her lips dancing with his, her tongue finally tasting his… remembering his. Like a warm breeze blowing across her she could see clearly what she'd missed in New York, the passion they'd shared it liquefied her insides. She pushed up on her tiptoes and threw her arms around Damon's neck somehow smashing even closer to him and deepened their kiss. Damon's arms snaked around her waist lifting her feet from the floor.

Bonnie finally breathed a sigh and eased up on him. He set her feet back to the ground but kept his arms right where they were.

"Damn, Miss Bennett, that was…"

"Tell me about it, Lover," she said with a slick smile and Damon pushed her away roughly with a look of panic in his eyes.

"I'm just kidding" Bonnie laughed at his face. "They're gone now."

Damon glanced over at the couch where the two polar opposites had been seated.

"Where'd they go?" he asked looking around for them.

"Well, the spell worked. They did what they came here for."

"Does that mean we can come out now?" Caroline peeked around the corner of the entryway.

"Care. How much of that did you hear?" Bonnie attempted to let go of Damon's hand but he squeezed hers tight.

"All of it!" Caroline sang out, bouncing into the room. "It was the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Yaaaay!" she squeezed Bonnie in a hug.

Bonnie couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Does this mean you're on Team Damon now?"

"Ew, no way. He's even more of a psychopath than you are- I man than 'id you'. But I am totally on team Bonnie and if there's anyone that could keep him in check, it's you."

"Congrats, brother. You finally did it," Stefan stepped up shaking Damon's hand. "Not to say I told you so or anything… but I did."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the advice Dr. Phil," said Damon.

"Glad to see you've pulled yourself together, Bonnie," Ric said to her.

"Ha, good one Ric," she said giving him a hug. "Thanks for everything."

"Anytime."

"So is it really over? Have we seen the last of Fun Bon?" Caroline asked.

"Oh no, I think you may be seeing a lot more of her in fact," said Bonnie. "She's not going anywhere, but she also won't be causing any more trouble."

"Well she could cause a little trouble," Damon's hands reached for Bonnie, grabbing her soft behind.

"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you?" she smirked, dipping her hands in his back pockets and groping him right back.

"Jeez, would you get a room," Ric complained, covering his eyes.

"Gladly!" Bonnie and Damon said together with a laugh.

"Okay, I'm gonna get outta here before this gets weird."

"We're right behind you, Ric" Stefan said.

"Could you deal with the little situation in the basement on your way out…?" Damon asked.

"I'll deal with Gabe. I'll break the news to him gently," Care winked at Bonnie.

"Thanks, guys."

Soon enough they were all gone, leaving Bonnie and Damon alone together. Damon pulled her over to the couch and tucked her into his side.

"So…" she said looking up into his blue eyes.

"So…?"

"You sure wanna do this?" she threw his earlier question back at him.

"Are you kidding me? We go through all of that and now you've got cold feet?"

"I'm just making sure you're up for it."

"Hey, I'm game if you are."

"Good," Bonnie said, stretching to kiss his cheek. Then she kissed his nose and his forehead and his temple before he hungrily pulled her lips back to his. He slowly sucker on her delicious lips, enjoying how they moved with his. Bonnie wrapped an arm around his neck pulling herself up on her knees to better reach him. His hands journeyed down her back to her waist, sneaking up the back of her shirt.

Feeling his fingertips roaming her skin, Bonnie broke away suddenly. "But are you really sure though?"

"Ugh!" Damon groaned and pushed her off him. "Seriously woman, you're trying to make me crazy and we've only been together 7 minutes!"

"I just wanna make sure you're really into it," she was having an insecure moment.

"What part of my tongue in your mouth made it seem like I wasn't?" Damon couldn't believe they were still talking at all. Bonnie just gave him a look, waiting for a real answer.

"Okay look, I'm a little tired giving speeches but I think you need to hear this one, so here goes. I've been in love before. At least I thought I had. The truth is… Katherine Pierce, she ruined me and Elena Gilbert well, she redeemed me." He looked into Bonnie's worried eyes, "But you Bonnie Bennett… you hated me. Like with a fiery murderous rage, you hated me. And I couldn't stand you, you made me crazy. And honey if that's not passion then I don't know what is. Bonnie, the only hard part about being with you would be letting myself feel joy again. Feel happiness and love again. I've lived a dozen lifetimes and I know how quickly it can all go away and I've wasted far too much time trying to deny myself what I feel for you and I don't want to waste another minute."

Damon wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye.

"Wow. That was a good speech…"

"I know, I didn't even practice or anything."

"But I was really just asking if you were sure you wanted to do it on the couch…" she said trying to keep a straight face.

"You're not funny."

"I'm a little funny," she snickered at him.

"I'll show you funny," Damon scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder and raced up the stairs.


	18. Chapter 18: Teaser

Teaser

He set her feet back on the ground, catching her by the waist when she dizzily stumbled. Grinning like a drunken idiot he pulled her face up to meet his and he hummed with satisfaction when she pressed her body into him.

After years of torturing himself over his growing desire for the little witch Damon finally had her to himself. And even better, there was no guilt nagging at him this time. There was only Bonnie Bennett. Her sweet jasmine and clove herbal scent was everywhere, enticing him completely. His lips pressed against hers as he reached down and cupped his hands around her ass, indulging in the somehow simultaneously soft and firm backside of his favorite person in the world. His wandering hands moved down to the back of her slender yet strong thighs and Damon lifted her up again, not able to resist himself. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist and he walked her into his bedroom. As he set her on the large bed and moved to press her back into the silky covers, she stopped him.

"Whoa there, Cowboy," Bonnie gasped out.

"What, you wanna be on top? That can be arranged." Damon rolled them over so that Bonnie was laying on his chest.

"Nooo," she groaned out of breath. "Okay, well a little."

"Good," Damon went back to kissing her neck and opening her shirt.

"Mmmm. Fuck," Bonnie moaned.

"Oh don't worry, I plan to," he answered between kisses.

"Not you," Bonnie sighed and sat up. "I just…. Whew.. I need a minute." She fanned her hot face with her hand.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked, sitting up on his elbows.

"Nothing. I'm good, let's go," she leaned in to kiss him again, pushing him back down on the bed. Her tongue tasted his and his hands acted swiftly to remove her shirt from her shoulders revealing her hardened nipples through her thin beige camisole and lacy bra.

"Okay, wait," she said as she sat up again.

"Bonnie." Damon started through gritted teeth.

"It's just. It's… It's this room. And your bed. It's like the ghosts of girlfriends past are haunting me."

"The room?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Ghosts?"

"Well, not literal ghosts. This time. I mean come on, how many ex's have you been with in this room?"

Damon made a face.

"Okay, don't answer that. Ever," Bonnie rolled off Damon's lap and bed and stood to her feet.

"That just means it's an incredibly sturdy bed," Damon patted the mattress beside him, inviting her to come back and test the it for herself.

"Oh come on! There has to be one room in this whole house that you haven't already defiled?"

Damon just made another face.

"Seriously?" Bonnie shoulders slumped.

"Okay, come on," he sighed and got out of the bed, grabbed her hand, and pulled her from the room.

They tried three other rooms, one a bathroom and one a study, before Bonnie picked one. It was the same one she'd stayed in in 1994, and it hadn't changed all that much. Same furniture, same curtains, same queen sized four post bed.

"Okay, here's good," Bonnie said turning to Damon and pulling him into the room she shut the door behind her.

"Are you sure?" he drawled with a sly grin.

"Don't mock me," she told him as she lifted his shirt up revealing his delicious stomach. He reached out and returned the favor, pulling her top over her head and backed her up to the bed. She scooted back and Damon crawled over her, eager to pick up where they'd left off.

He kissed his way down to her neck and pressed his face into her breasts.

Bonnie's body was singing with pleasure. Every touch he made had her gasping and sighing. She had wanted this for such a long time. Her body was telling her to go go go, she could feel the hot arousal in her jeans and she knew she wanted them off so she could really feel Damon… and yet-

"Okay, stop. We have to stop." She opened her eyes to see the look of disbelief on Damon's face. He had her zipper down and was about to remove her cumbersome jeans.

"What now?! Is it _this room_? Because I am 78% certain I've never done it in this room."

"It's not the room. It's me," she covered her face with her hands. "There's this annoying voice in my head telling me to take it slow and now that I've put a face to that voice I can't just ignore her!"

"Yes. Yes you can," Damon started to go back to kissing her belly button.

"Damon, don't…." her command was weak, like even she knew she didn't mean it.

"Don't… or don't stop?" he whispered, his icy blue eyes smiling up at her as he watched her resolve weaken further. Instead of getting her pants further off he pushed his fingers down the front of them and teased them into her already hot and slick opening and-

"YOW!" Damon yanked his hand back like he'd just stuck a fork in a live outlet. "What the hell was _that_?!"

"Defense mechanism, I'm sorry!" Bonnie gasped. Damon sat back, pushing away from her and examined his fingertips to make sure they weren't actually blistered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I swear I didn't know that would happen," Bonnie sat up to her knees and tried to take his injured hand in hers, but he jerked away. "Just let me see," she held her hand out and after a moment he tentatively placed his visibly undamaged hand in her palm. She brought his fingers to her lips hoping to kiss it better. "Sorry."

"We're gonna have to create a code word or something for when you are super serious."

"Well, I _told_ you to stop."

"I thought you were being shy. You _know_ I would've stopped," Damon eyed her seriously and Bonnie returned it with a skeptical look of her own. "I would have!"

"Okay! Sorry. Again!"

They sat scowling at each other before Damon caved and collapsed back against the pillows and pulled Bonnie into his side.

"Guess we're going slow."  
"Thank you," she whispered.

"Yeah, well, you just keep your hands where I can see them."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi guys! I know it's been a while since I've updated, my apologies. I'm trying to decide if there is more story here or should I start a new one, hence the short "Teaser" chapter. I kind of like the idea of Damon and Bonnie trying to figure out how to be in a real relationship together. I'm just not sure if it should be in this story or not. Let me know if you'd read it if I continued here.. I've a got couple more chapters written out just in case. Love yall. I've missed you.**

 **-T**


	19. Chapter 19: Long Kiss Goodnight

Silently they walked up the stairs leading to the front door of Bonnie's dorm. "Well then…" She turned to say goodnight and Damon walked right into her.

"Oof, sorry-"

"No, that's my fault, I stopped short-"

"-didn't mean to walk into you."

"It's totally fine," Bonnie chewed on her bottom lip, letting the awkward moment linger before continuing. "Sooo… I'll call you?"

"Yeah, or I could walk you up…" Damon leaned in, bracing his arm on the door above Bonnie's head, backing her into a corner.

"Well, you know I would love that, but Caroline's probably up there already and you know how you two get… so…"

"Yeah, yeah sure. It's probably not a good idea," Damon quickly agreed, retracting his arm and taking a couple steps back.

"But I'll see you tomorrow right? I mean, or whenever," Bonnie backpedaled, not wanting to presume anything.

"Yes, I will see you tomorrow."

"Great. Tomorrow."

"Right.."

"I'm gonna head up then," Bonnie waited a moment and when he didn't stop her she turned to the door.

"Let me get that," Damon said and he pulled the door open for her.

"Thanks. Goodnight."

"Night."

Bonnie stepped inside relieved to finally escape that excruciating moment.

"What the hell was that…?" Bonnie mumbled to herself as she made her way to her room. She kept playing the last hour on repeat in her mind, trying to pinpoint exactly where she had turned into a bumbling idiot.

Things had been going so well at first. She'd spent the night with Damon, snuggled against his chest. They'd both been exhausted from the roller coaster ride that was the last few days and Bonnie had actually slept for a solid 12 hours.

She woke up a bit stiff and totally clear for the first time in days and she was alone in the bed she'd claimed as her own in the 1994 prison world. Before she could panic she saw Damon in a chair by the window.

"What time is it?" she asked through a yawn.

"It's almost 8."

"Wow," she stretched her arms over her head. "That was some of the best sleep I've had in ages."

"Really?"

"You seem surprised?"

"Well I am. You all but kicked me out the bed last night," Damon teased, joining her on the mattress.

"I did?"

"Yes, you did. You're a terrible sleeping companion, you fidgeted all night, you kicked, you talked! I'm surprised you got any rest at all."

"Wow. I'm sorry it was _so terrible_ for you!" Bonnie threw the covers back and started to leave but Damon caught her and in one breathless motion rolled over on top of her, effectively trapping her.

"I didn't say _it_ was terrible, I said _you_ were terrible," he told her as she squirmed beneath his weight.

"Oh well, thanks for that, what a _sweetheart_." She rolled her eyes.

Damon laughed and rolled to his side facing her.

"Good morning," he said pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Great morning," she sighed into his lips as he kissed her, morning breath and all. She thought about restraining herself before she blew that off and wrapped her leg over Damon's waist and squeezed him closer, deepening the kiss.

Damon saw his opening and moved his hands up the back of her shirt, roaming over the supple warm skin he found there, and then down to the back of her thighs, stopping to squeeze her cheeks. He loved that she moaned and tightened her leg around him, gasping for air. His mouth quickly moved to her throat as he tasted the salty sweet skin covering her jugular vein.

Bonnie pushed his shoulder back down and rolled so she was on top and Damon grinned like a fox sensing he was finally getting his way.

Bonnie whispered in his ear, "If you think I'm that easy, you don't know me very well. That's a good try though." She pecked him on the cheek and then hopped down from the bed, fixing her shirt. "What's for breakfast? I'm starved." And with that she left him and his hard-on laying there, disappointed.

* * *

Bonnie grinned again thinking back on the pancakes he'd made her for breakfast. They were doing fine, great even, at that point- joking around and flirting all over the kitchen.

Damon seemed fine while they cleaned up the mess her self-reflection spell had caused.

"You've got to be the messiest house guest ever."

"Yeah, things got a little away from me yesterday," she admitted while she swept up the dried herbs.

"So you've filed that spell away under 'For Future Use' right? Cause there's a couple sides of you I wouldn't mind seeing again," Damon teased with a crooked smile and a raunchy look in his eyes.

"What? No way! I plan on never doing that crazy spell ever again!" Bonnie was a bit shocked he even suggested it.

"Why not?"

"I don't want anyone to ever see me like that!"

"Oh, your little librarian side wasn't so bad. You know, when wasn't speaking," Damon laughed.

"Excuse me?" Bonnie turned to look at him. "What does _that_ mean?"

"What?" He recognized the look and the 'tude she using.

"Well, _I_ was referring to my Dark Twisted Fantasy self, but you're complaining about my 'librarian side?"

"Oh come on Bonnie! You have to admit Prudy Trudy was a bit intense, right?"

"Okay, she was intense but what's wrong with being driven and focused? If anything she- I mean, that side of me hasn't been getting enough credit!"

"You're joking, right? Everything we went through yesterday was because 'that side of you' has way too much control. You heard her, you're suffocating your FunBon, Bon Bon," Damon kidded, giving her a playful poke in the side.

But Bonnie swatted his hand away. "That's it isn't it. That's the side of me you want? 'FunBon'.

"Bonnie, I am _very_ fond of all of your sides," he backtracked, pulling her in and peppering kisses on her face. "Like this side-" _kiss,_ "-and this side-", _kiss_. "And your crazy side-" _kiss_ , "-and your funny side" _kiss_ "your witchy side- all of them. All of you."

Bonnie stood trying to keep the grin off her face and let him hold onto her. "Yeah well, you're not so bad yourself." She pushed up on her tip toes and put her lips to Damon's ear, "You know, _when you aren't talking._ " She shoved him off and went back to sweeping.

"It was a joke!" Damon sighed out loud.

"Yeah, okay."

* * *

That was when things got a little... tense and weird. The drive back to campus was filled with these loaded silent pauses giving Bonnie too much time to wonder if she'd just ruined the shortest relationship in human history. And why was she being so sensitive now? Damon ribbed and teased her on a regular basis for ages and now she feels a type of way about it?

But as stubborn as she was she wasn't going to be the one to admit she was overreacting. So she kept waiting for Damon to apologize and before she knew it he was gone and she was climbing the stairs to her dorm room alone.

Disgusted, mostly with herself, Bonnie pulled her keys and phone from her bag and called Damon, fully intending to let him have it for just leaving like he did.

She held her phone to her face with her shoulder as she unlocked her door. The phone rang and rang as she hit the light switch on the wall.

"So I'm just wondering what the hell that whole mess was down there." Damon was leaning against the sill of the opened window and spoke as if they were continuing a conversation. He barely even noticed that she'd just about jumped out of her skin.

"I mean it was _just a joke_ for crying out loud!"

"I know."

"I mean seriously, we joke with each other all the time. So you have to tell me if that's, like, not our thing anymore."

"Okay."

"And that whole weird silent treatment thing is extremely 2009."

"Okay! It just sort of spiraled and then I didn't know what to say, or how to say it."

"I know right!"

" And all I could think was 'it's just Damon, what's the big damn deal?'"

"Wait, what?"

"And then, that goodbye? What the hell was that?" Bonnie exclaimed with a laugh.

"Exactly!" Damon agreed, pushing away from the wall.

"It was painfully awkward."

"Freaking train wreck. Start to finish."

"And then you just left!"

"You told me to go!"

"And you listened?"

"Well, I'm here aren't I!"

"You didn't even kiss me goodnight!"

"But I came back!"

"And broke into my dorm room through the window!? Like, who are you, Dracula?"

"It was supposed be romantic!"

"You scared the crap outta me!"

"Why are we still yelling?!"

"I don't know!" Bonnie laughed. And suddenly she couldn't stop laughing. The whole thing was ridiculous. She was gasping for air, Damon's shoulders were shaking as they laughed about how stupid their first fight was.

When Bonnie finally got herself under control she found Damon standing right in front of her, as always invading her personal space, and smirking down at her.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked.

"Yeah. I do," Bonnie said reaching out and winding her arms around Damon's waist and pulling him closer, removing the space between them.

"Good. Me too," Damon took her face in his hands and bent his neck down to put his lips to hers, kissing her slowly and deeply, his tongue tangling excitedly with hers.

Bonnie's pulse was racing as she reluctantly eased out of the kiss, and looked up into those chilly blue eyes that were surprisingly warm now and staring right back into her own. She swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth and asked:

"Wanna get something to eat?"

"I could eat."

* * *

 **AUTHOR NOTE**

Another chapter down! Sorry that it's been so long between updates, life's been happening. What do you think of these two? I think they rub off on each other in such noticeable ways and maybe they see it and they want to fight and hold on to themselves, that mile wide stubborn streak at play. Anyway, just my thoughts on the lovebirds. I don't own the characters or anything TVD, but I love these two. In the next few chapters we're going to see maybe some new characters maybe a few old ones as Bonnie and Damon try putting their budding relationship to the tests of the real world. Stay tuned for more adventures in _Glaringly Obvious!_ (I'm a dork, don't mind me….)

-T


	20. Chapter 20: Damon's Chapter

Damon's Chapter

Damon watched his cocoa goddess of a witch as she scrambled all over her room trying to finish dressing so she could leave for class.

He watched intently as she fished a little black boot from under her bed and proceeded to look under every possible surface for its mate. He spotted it under a crumpled pair of jeans instantly, but he was enjoying the show too much to end it so soon. So he sat back and watched for another minute or so as she bent down and checked again under her bed and Caroline's bed and then Elena's bed.

His eyes flitted over to his ex-girlfriend's bed, still neatly made like any moment now she'd be coming through the door.

Quickly, Damon pushed her from his mind, focusing again on the moment before him.

Bonnie was driving herself crazy looking for a shoe- Damon couldn't understand for the life of him why she didn't just pick another pair- and of course she was talking nonstop. She did that. Either she talked endlessly or she'd sit silently. He couldn't decide which was more annoying.

Although, when she talked he had the opportunity to watch her lips move. He could almost taste the air she was exhaling, it was so Bonnie it made his mouth water. She sighed out loud and her chest, revealed by the low cut top she wore, heaved up and down. He was distracted by every move she made and now he took great pleasure in not having to watch out of the corner of his eye or peak when no one else was looking. He had no shame in looking now, especially since looking was practically all he was allowed to do, seeing as they were 'going slow'.

He scowled thinking about it. Going slow. Like he was in some afterschool special for tweens. He didn't see what the big deal was, wait or don't wait the sex would be phenomenal. Damon could picture it perfectly… until a boot hit him square in the chest bringing him back to the present again.

"HELLO! Earth to Damon! Where are you, are you EVEN listening to me?" Bonnie shouted.

"What?! I'm right here!" he said, rubbing the spot where he'd been pelted.

"Completely useless," she muttered under her breath.

With a sigh Damon used his enhanced vampire speed to cross the room and return with her missing combat boot. "Not completely," he said with a grin, tossing it to her.

"Thank you!" She pulled the shoe on quickly and gathered up her bag, keys, and phone and did a quick scan of the room.

"Okay, I gotta go," she finally turned to say goodbye.

"Fine. Leave me alone to my own devices," Damon said leaning against her dresser and peeking in the top drawer before she forcefully pushed it shut, just barely missing his fingers.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to keep yourself entertained. Maybe you and Caroline can hang out when she gets back in a bit-"

"Okay, okay, I'll leave! No need the threaten me," he joked.

She gave him that smile he loved. "C'mere." And she stretched up on her toes to better reach him, she was so small he didn't know why she bothered- he still had to meet her more than halfway- and she kissed him. Briefly, sweetly, like there was no doubt in her mind she would pick up where they left off later. "Bye." She pecked his lips one last time and he wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her body pressed to his for as long as he could before she started wriggling her way free. "I have to leave!" she laughed pushing him off.

"Okay, fine," he sighed, pressing his lips to her neck one last time before releasing her and watching her back out of the room.

"And stay out of trouble," she warned sternly as she closed the door behind her.

Damon rolled his eyes. 'Stay out of trouble'. _Like I'm some little kid that requires looking after._

He pulled on his own boots and jacket and headed out, debating whether or not she meant it patronizingly or out of genuine fear for his safety.

As Damon pulled Bonnie's door shut behind him the door across the hall swung open and a redhead stepped out.

"Oh. Hi," she said, looking him up and down.

"Hi yourself."

"You're Damon, aren't you?" she asked curiously.

He grinned, amused that Bonnie had been talking to her friends about him.

"You're Elena's boyfriend, right? Did she like drop out or something, I haven't seen her in forever," she continued.

And just that quickly Damon was furious enough to rip her pretty little head off her pretty little body.

"Ex. Excuse me," and he left without another word.

No. Bonnie had meant it genuinely. Because she knew him. Knew his propensity toward doing stupid thoughtless things like murdering girls on her hall before breakfast.

He left the dorm as quickly as he could, trying to avoid actually seeing the coeds dressed, or rather half-dressed, for the warm weather in their sundresses, cutoff shorts, and skimpy tops. God! He was surrounded by women. And his favorite kind too, young and human, bursting with life and sexual excitement.

And was it just him or were they all staring at him? Inviting him to pursue them for whatever he wanted, blood, sex, anything…

No, it was just him. He finally made it outside and his mind cleared a bit.

He was horny. Plain and simple, he was out of his mind horny.

 _No wonder she'd told me to stay out of trouble, it's a miracle I made to my car in this condition,_ he thought miserably.

Damon Salvatore was a man that had spent his unnaturally long existence indulging in instant gratification. He had spent more nights in the company of nameless women than he had alone.

He was a master at sex. For him, sex was an art form that he had perfected time and time again. There were songs written about the way he made love, women that went on to publish stories about the way he had loved them and left them (the ones he'd left living, of course). Bestsellers even!

And look at him now.

Against all odds he was in love again, with a gorgeous woman who actually loved him in return, and somehow _now_ he wasn't getting any!

What was he supposed to do? Bonnie wanted to take things slow. He was unclear of exactly what that meant but he knew if he pressed for details he'd come off as an insensitive dick and he already had so many things counting against him – his long track record of exes, his vampire/dangerous killer status, the fact that he'd dated not one but two of her best friends before. Yeah, he couldn't afford to add insensitive dick to the list.

So he kept his mouth shut and his hands above the danger zone and followed Bonnie's lead. He let Bonnie move at her slow human pace and they'd spent the second night in a row cuddling.

Not that he hated it. Oh no, he loved having her in his arms, knowing where she was and that she was safe. And he would have been fine if she would just stop… touching him.

If she wouldn't roll over into him and press her ass into his crotch, burrowing into him for warmth.

If she wouldn't rest her head on his shoulder just so and innocently press her lips to his neck and suck just a half second too long, like she wanted to taste him but was too shy to ask for it.

If she wouldn't watch him with lust in her eyes when she thought he couldn't see. He could see everything, he was a vampire dammit! He could see the way she reacted when he touched her skin, or pulled her close. He could hear it take her breath away, could see the shiver ripple down her body….

And he knew she was restraining herself to keep from starting things. She _was_ trying. But she had no idea that EVERYTHING she did turned him on.

Or maybe she did….

Ugh!

He needed to take his mind off of her. He fished his phone out of his pocket and saw that he had at least nine hours until he could see her again without looking desperate.

He found Stefan's number and called but got his voicemail.

Alaric had classes to teach, the do-gooder.

That left one final option for the vacant position of sober sponsor…

He found the number and called, surprised when it answered after the second ring.

"Enzo! How's it going buddy?"


	21. Chapter 21

_***Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. It's pretty long.. Sorry not sorry.***_

"So? How are _things_?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes at the way her friend drew out the word, saturating it with innuendo.

"Things are fine, Care," Bonnie replied. "What's up with you?"

" 'Things are fine'? Seriously? That's all I get?" Caroline's voice rose with indignation. She glanced left and right checking herself before continuing, "I'm not saying I want all the naughty details or anything, but I need something more than 'fine'. Now, spill."

And Bonnie wanted to. She wanted to spill everything. She wanted her friends advice and input on how to proceed with _things._

But when she opened her mouth nothing came out. No gushing and girly excitement over her new boyfriend. Just-

"It's good, we're good."

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Caroline asked. Damn. When she wanted, Care could be super perceptive. Bonnie knew it was a bad idea to meet her for coffee, but she'd been avoiding this conversation all week. And Care could only be evaded for so long before she took matters into her own hands and started looking for answers from other sources, and Bonnie didn't want _things_ getting back to anyone… So here she was putting on her best smile… and lying to her best friend's face.

Because _things_ were not fine.

...

After their coffee date, Bonnie left Caroline at the arts building and headed back to Ric's office where she collapsed on the tiny couch, resting her face on a stack of ungraded papers.

"Uh-oh," Ric commented from his seat behind his desk. "Trouble in paradise?"

"No, everything is fine!" Bonnie said in a rush.

"Which means everything's not fine." Ric looked at her a moment, worry creasing his features. "Do I want to know what's up?"

Again, Bonnie opened her mouth and nothing came out. She was torn between wanting to keep her business to herself and wanting to talk through everything going on in her life. But if she couldn't talk to her lifelong friend why would she be able to talk to Ric?

"It's just… confusing." There that wasn't too bad. "Well, confusing and hard."

"Confusing and hard?" Ric echoed.

"And good, too. And fun, we're having fun. So that's good, right?"

"Fun can be good…"

"It's just… I don't want it to be just fun, you know." Bonnie rolled to look at the ceiling, trying to find words to better explain what she meant. "It's like, fun's good and it's all happy and sunshine and Netflix and chill, but… it doesn't feel real."

"Do you think Damon's faking it? Leading you on or something?" Ric suggested.

"No! Not like that. You know what, I'm being stupid." She sat up and put her feet to the floor. "We're fine."

"Bonnie," Ric said. He'd known the young witch for some time now and knew when things were really bothering her though she did her best to be strong for everyone around her, himself included. The least he could do was listen. "You can talk to me."

Bonnie looked into Ric's eyes for a moment and saw nothing but caring there. No judgement, no desire for gossip. Just concern.

The concern was what made her blurt out, "I can't have sex with Damon," before she lost her nerve.

"Oh," Ric's eyebrows shot up. He wasn't expecting that. Vampires and evil witches- that was his wheelhouse, not talking about sex with his best friend's girlfriend who was 15 years younger than him and his student and his TA. But their little group hadn't let that stop them before. Ric fixed his face back into concern. "Okay."

"I mean, I want to. I really, really want to. I need to," Bonnie's eyes closed just thinking about his hands and lips on her body and what it did to her… "But I can't!"

Ric drew a breath, steeling himself for the response to his next question: "Why not?"

"I don't know!" she moaned, collapsing back on the couch again.

"Sure you do. You know why," Ric bluffed.

"I do? Do you?" she asked, bewildered.

"I've got an idea." He didn't.

"Well, what is it?" She waited for him to tell her and when he didn't she raised her head to peer over the desk at him. He had that 'I could give you the answer but how would you learn anything' look that teachers get.

"Fine." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I guess… I'm nervous."

 _There,_ Ric thought. _I can work with that._ "About what? Don't you care about Damon?" he asked.

"Of course I do. And he's actually being great about the whole thing, which is out of character for him, which only makes me feel worse."

"Why?"

"Because. We've already been through so much to get here. And this is supposed to be the honeymoon period or whatever and I'm the one making us both miserable with this 'go slow' stuff."

"Well, what made you decide to wait?"

"It's just so deeply engrained, you know. I'm just not the girl that jumps in the sack before a first date."

"Maybe that's what you're waiting for. You want to make it special. Meaningful."

"Well, yeah…"

"But that's not all?" Ric guessed.

Bonnie stared at the ceiling, not wanting to answer.

"It's… I feel like there is this giant looming Elena shaped elephant in the room. Sitting right in the middle of my shiny new relationship." Bonnie blew out a huge sigh like she'd been holding that breath for ages.

"Every time I'm with him it just feels like I'm kissing her boyfriend, the love of her life, not mine. Like how can I still be her best friend if I'm with her boyfriend?"

"You feel like you're betraying that friendship."

"Aren't I?"

Ric sat there doing his best therapist impersonation, thinking how to respond. Just when Bonnie started to feel certain he wasn't going to answer, he sighed and finally spoke.

"Look, I can't pretend to know exactly what Elena would think about this. But I do know that she cared about you and she cared about Damon. And I don't think she'd want the two of you to mourn her forever. I think she'd want you two to help each other to be happy. Would you agree?"

"Of course she'd want that. She'd want us to be happy, but-"

"And Damon makes you happy?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And do you make Damon less homicidal?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"I guess so, yeah, but-"

"Then let that be enough. It's hard enough finding someone in this world that understands all the shit we go through without making it even harder, don't you think?" Ric sat back in his chair, suddenly beyond tired of this conversation.

Bonnie watched as he took a long drink out of a mug that she knew for a fact didn't hold coffee.

"Thanks Ric," she said softly. "I'm sorry to unload all my crap on you."

"Hey, I asked didn't I? Besides, I know you'd do the same for me." His eyes still held far too much sadness for her liking, so Bonnie swiftly changed gears.

"So, what assignment from hell can I help you grade today?" she asked, climbing to her feet and crossing to stand next to him behind his cluttered desk.

"I've got first drafts of a research paper that I'd like you to look over. There's this one group that have an idea worth checking out, the rest are pretty… meh," he shrugged. "Think you could meet with the groups, offer a little Wiccan inspiration?"

"Well, why call it a gift if you can't bestow it upon others?" she smiled.

…

' _Hey, I've got office hours tonight. You wanna meet up after?'_

Damon reread the text from Bonnie for the third time, fingers poised over his iPhone keypad, struggling to answer such a simple question.

' _Do I want to meet up with Bonnie later tonight?'_ Of course he wanted to see her. He'd already started to text her three times to ask about her day; he had it bad.

So why couldn't he answer the question?

Oh, yeah. Because he had a little devil of his own on his shoulder telling him not to. Well, maybe not so little and instead of on his shoulder he was seated on a barstool beside him, but still.

"Look mate, you can't seem too eager," he was saying. "You're practically giving away all the power in the situation. You're supposed to be the mysterious and dark, older and elusive lover. Not some teeny bopper with a crush following after the prom queen like some puppy dog! Have some pride man! Let her chase you. Trust me in two days she'll be out of her mind with missing you and jonesing for a taste of what only you can deliver. Women only want what they can't have and that's a fact mate. Trust me. Leave her waiting a few hours and see if she doesn't change her tune. Besides, it's not like you don't have other things to do besides wait around for your little witch all day, am I right?"

Damon had called Enzo hoping that his old friend would provide him with a distraction from his current relationship dilemma. Instead, they'd been sitting in the same dirty dive bar for hours while Damon caught Enzo up on the events of the last week, and then went on to analyze in detail what was going on between him and Bonnie. The sixty- something year old barkeep trudged back and forth between them and the other sad and pathetic looking patrons spending the day wallowing in alcohol at his establishment. Every now and then the older man with his day old graying scruff of a beard would huff and grunt his agreement with Enzo and launch into a story about some woman that had had him so caught up that he either gave her everything he owned or somehow ended up in jail trying to get her back or both _._ Either way, his stories were less than helpful, mostly because Damon could only understand every other word that came out his mouth which couldn't have had more than three of his original teeth still hanging in there.

But the bourbon was serving its purpose and eventually everything Enzo and the old bartender were spouting at Damon started to sound like good advice. So he merely left Bonnie's message about meeting up later unanswered. What was he supposed to say? "Yeah I want to see you later but only if that means I get to have my wicked way with you tonight."

 _No,_ he thought, pouring himself another round from one of the bottles sitting half empty on the grimy bartop.

 _Better to play it cool, let her come find me._

And Damon Salvatore tossed back another gulp of his drink and resigned himself to listening to another story from Mick? Mitch?- about his third wife and how she blew up his bar for the second time.

…..

Bonnie didn't hear back from Damon after she told him she'd be working that night.

 _Well, shit_ , she thought. _That was fast, he's already ignoring me, blowing me off._

 _ **Yeah, but you blew him off first,**_ she argued internally. _**Can't really blame him.**_

 _Okay, but he can't blame_ me _for having to work, tuition isn't going to pay for itself,_ she countered.

 _ **Still. Doesn't mean you have to neglect your new boyfriend, though**_ _,_ her inner voice shot back. _**You'll just push him away.**_

"I'll just call him!" she finally said out loud to the room of undergrads that hadn't been privy to her internal battle. They looked at each other confused, and went back to thumbing through their collected research.

Bonnie laughed a little to herself. She couldn't help but picture her "FunBon" shaking her head over all the melodrama.

"Excuse me." She stepped out into the hall and dialed Damon's number. It went to voicemail and she left him a message saying she was sorry they'd missed each other all afternoon, but Ric had her going over papers with his students all evening and could he call her back she just wanted to hear from him.

Bonnie hung up feeling better and worse. She had a strange ache in her chest from thinking about Damon but at least she had tried to make it right and he couldn't even be bothered to answer her call. Ugh. What a guy.

And okay, maybe he possibly was doing something very important at the moment, she didn't know. Benefit of the doubt and all that.

But the last few days hadn't been like this, what changed? Was he mad at her? Something wasn't right, she felt it in her gut, and her intuition was never wrong. She had a sense about these things.

Bonnie returned to the classroom, ready to help the next group of students.

"Okay, Jordan, this idea you have for the deity of love, run it by me again," she said taking her seat among a group of four students- Jordan, Cissi, Jayne, and Paul.

"Okay," Jordan pushed her thick framed glasses higher up on her slender nose. She was a pretty girl, a bit intense and more passionate about the subject than the others who seemed to be in the class for the hot Doc, i.e. Ric. _Mental eyeroll._ "This deity, Amalchba, is like this African fertility goddess who grants favor and prosperity upon her followers, right?" She was way into this.

Cissi picked up her classmate's train of thought after draining the last drop from her paper to-go coffee cup. "And we found these like accounts of this tribe in the rainforests of the Kongo, totally remote. So we thought we'd you know try to recreate a traditional ceremony using the elements Professor Saltzman's been talking about."

Jayne, the funny one of the group, chimed in ticking the elements off her fingers, each of which bore a silver ring – "Nature, ancestors or spirits, offerings, the whole shebang. Instead of doing just another boring old paper."

" Yeah," Paul, the lone boy in the group, added. "We figured Dr. S is probably tired of reading papers and this way we get to kill something!"

"Kill something?" Bonnie was slightly disturbed at that, but really who was she to judge? Just look at who she was dating.

Well, dating really was a loose definition for what they were doing because the truth was, they hadn't really even been on a date yet. Not a real one anyway…

Bonnie shook her head trying to focus on the students around her.

"Well, not a real something, of course, just symbolically," Jordan, the brown-eyed sophomore explained. "The problem is we're having trouble with this one part of the ritual, well translating it actually. And pronouncing it." She passed Bonnie a photocopy of a page out of a book, pointing to the highlighted section. "Any idea what this says?

Bonnie looked down at the page, skimming through the text. The language was almost familiar and she caught the overall gist of it, deity of love and light, prosperity, blah blah. Animal sacrifice to the spirits, blah blah. And then there was one part that stumped her. She read it aloud a couple times hoping it would jog something loose from her memory, and it was close but in the end she couldn't grasp it.

"I'll bring it to Alaric and see if he has better luck," she suggested.

"I'll do it!" Both Jayne and Cissi insisted together, sliding each other a side glance and a grin. Jordan just rolled her eyes.

"By all means," Bonnie shrugged, handing the page back to the girls. "But so far I like the idea. Favor and prosperity- I could use a little of that in my life. But be careful."

With that she moved on to the next group.

…..

It was nearly 1:30 in the morning before Bonnie gave up waiting to hear from Damon. She closed her textbook and dropped it roughly on the floor next to her bed and rolled to her side, reaching to turn off the lamp on her desk. She checked her phone one last time and found zero messages, yet again.

She had hoped she was just being paranoid and insecure about Damon not calling back. But she'd left him another message saying good night and still nothing! He was actually avoiding her.

After returning to her room from the study session she got ready for bed while analyzing their entire interaction that morning and the night before. She played it in her head over and over, yet again trying to figure out how she'd screwed up.

She knew what it was, she just didn't want to admit to herself that Damon was the kind of guy who would blow her off just because she wouldn't sleep with him.

The more she thought about it the more pissed she got. How dare he?! What a dick! She should've known he was no different from any other human guy, in fact he was worse. Because a lifetime of experience hadn't given him patience and acceptance and gratitude, it'd made him a spoiled brat! He couldn't handle not getting his way for even one week and already he was showing his true colors.

He was probably off at some bar sinking his teeth into the trashiest thing in the room.

And to think, Bonnie had spent the majority of the day missing him and counting down until she could be with him again. Well not anymore! She could play it just as cool, if not cooler.

She punched her pillow a couple times, trying to get comfortable, knowing it was useless. It had taken a remarkably short amount of time to get used to falling asleep in his strong arms, listening to him breathe, inhaling his scent…

Somehow Bonnie fell asleep thinking about the arms she craved and was startled awake some time later when those same arms finally slid around her under the covers.

"Shhh…," Damon murmured, his soft lips pressed to her ear.

"Hmm," Bonnie hummed with pleasure, not fully awake. "Hey," her voice still thick with sleep.

"Hey yourself," Damon said softly, his breath blowing across her cheek – reeking of bourbon and stale beer.

"Unghh!" Bonnie stopped in the middle of pressing her ass into his already hardening junk and tried not to gag. She turned to face the vampire that had appeared in her bed, "Damon? God you smell like the floor of a bar."

Damon tried to pull her back into his arms with a gentle but slightly slurred, "Come on, let's just go to sleep."

"I can't sleep when the stink of you makes me wanna vomit," Bonnie replied as she reached out to turn on the lamp and then pulled herself upright against the wall behind her bed. "What are doing here, Damon?"

"Trying to sleep," he buried his head in her lap, getting comfortable while Bonnie was slowly gearing up for a fight.

"Ugh. Get up, Damon," she scoffed.

"Okay," he said.

But didn't actually move.

"Now, Damon," she pushed him off of her.

"Fine! Geez, what's with you?" He rolled and shuffled onto his back, barely managing to stay in the narrow bed.

"What's with me?! Really? It's…" she checked her phone, "3AM and you're crawling into my bed, wasted, waking me up, that's what wrong with me! Get outta my bed."

"Excuse me?" He was shocked; this was not going how he'd expected. He'd hoped to sneak in, surprise her, cuddle with her, maybe a little more if he was lucky. But not this; she was pissed.

"I said get your stank smelling ass out of my bed. Now. Before I remove you myself," she threatened.

Damon sighed and, guessing her way would involve an excruciating pain in his brain, he dragged himself upright. Or as upright as he could manage.

"Happy?" he slurred, blinking at her through half-closed eyelids.

"Not really," she said rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Why are you here Damon?" she asked coldly.

" _You_ asked me over!" Damon exclaimed. His delicious buzz was quickly fading as he came to recognize the signs of a pissed off witch; the crossed arms, the angry scowl, the set of her jaw.

"What? When?" Bonnie grabbed up her phone again. Had she been texting in her sleep again?

"You said we should meet up after you get off work..."

"That was at four o'clock this afternoon."

"Yeah, I know."

"But you – I mean, I never heard from you. You never called me back." Was she really sitting here having to explain this to him like he was seven and not over a hundred and seventy.

"Well, I meant to," he said, trying to lower himself to sit back on the bed.

"Unh unh," Bonnie grunted at him in dissent before his ass could hit the sheets.

He sighed, and straightened. "What?"

"I think you need to leave. This isn't working for me right now."

"Oh, that's right, because everything's on your terms isn't it? When we're together, when we're not together." Damon rolled his eyes to the ceiling

"Okay, you're drunk and I don't want to talk to you like this."

"Good, cus I'm sobering up pretty quick now."

"Well, great. Then you can explain to me why the hell you're creeping through my window at 3AM but can't be bothered to return a text message?" Bonnie was hot now, throwing the covers back off her legs and standing to her feet.

"It was an accident!" he spat out the lie quickly, wanting to diffuse the situation.

"Oh. An accident," she turned her back to him. "Of course. It was _accidental._ " Facing away from him she called his phone. "I guess your phone must've died, then."

"Yeah," he said, grateful for the excuse.

"Riight." She said as his phone rang from his jacket pocket where he'd dumped it on the floor. She finally turned to face him with a stony look.

At least he had the decency to look ashamed as he reached down and dug through his jacket to silence the obnoxious _Sabrina, The Teenage Witch_ ringtone.

"Okay, maybe died is a bit of a stretch," he looked up with a grin that faltered when he saw just sad she looked.

As quickly as Bonnie had gone from sleeping to warpath, she was calm again. She was tired and hurt.

She had opened her heart, her arms, and life to this man and it had taken all of three whole days for him to hurt her.

Bonnie brought the palms of her hands to her eyes trying to keep the tears from falling as she spoke. "Just go, Damon," she sniffed. "Please."

Damon stepped closer to her, "Bonnie I'm-"

"Go!" she shouted.

With a final sigh and one last look, he exited through the same window he had come in from.

…

Damon leapt through Bonnie's window, landing a little rougher than intended and stalked off to his car.

 _What the hell was that for?_ He thought with a flood of emotions running through him

Anger- _She's freaking insane if she thinks she can just throw me out of her room and that be the end of it! I'm Damon MotherFucking Salvatore!_ And he turned right around ready to jump back in there and go for another round!

Then, Shame- _God, I can't believe I made her cry._ That face back there? Had it been anyone else to cause that face he would've ripped their heart out of their chest and fed it to them. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ He stopped short and his shoulders drooped.

And Indignation- _But still, she could've talked to me instead of boosting me out the window! Like what's the big damn deal, Edward Cullen was always sneaking in windows and girls loved that clown. And I wasn't even that drunk, I mean I've been worse… Hell, she's seen me worse!_

Of course, there was regret- _I can't believe I screwed this up, this fast. What the hell was I thinking, listening to Enzo?!_ Damon punched an Invisible Enzo and started stomping back to his car.

But of course he had screwed this up, it's what he did! He sabotaged good things, it was his default setting, and just when things were changing for him, he veered off course. True to his nature.

He paced back and forth outside the dorm for a bit, warring with himself about which emotion needed to take precedence, and when a young blonde coed came from the building catching him mid-stride, he finally decided.

Hunger.

….

Bonnie stood catching her breath, watching the curtains settle next to her open window. She wiped away her tears as she quickly crossed the short length of her room and slammed said window down and locked it, daring her would-be vampire boyfriend to come back for another round.

Bonnie was heated. She could feel the sparks in the air around her, crackling with every step she took. After a few more controlled breaths, she climbed back into her bed, reaching up to turn out her lamp.

She closed her eyes and immediately began replaying the disaster over and over in her mind.

Only this time, instead of her usual self-doubting and struggling to understand what she herself had done wrong, she knew exactly who was to blame.

What the hell had made Damon think she'd just be cool with him rolling in at three in the morning without even a phone call all night? Like, who in their right mind would let that shit slide?

Would Elena?

 _No_ , she thought angrily, shutting down that thought before it could take root. _I can't keep doing this, comparing everything I do to his last relationship. I'm not Elena and I can't be Elena for him._

She punched her pillow a couple times trying to get comfortable enough to fall back asleep…

But her mind wasn't having it.

 _And where the hell was he all night that he couldn't take half a minute to text me?_

 _And THEN he friggin lied TO MY FACE about his phone dying! Like how stupid do you think I am?!_

Sleep clearly wasn't happening right now; she'd only managed to work herself up again.

Furious and restless, Bonnie threw her covers back once again and lurched from her bed with no real plan of action in mind, just the overwhelming urge to get moving. She was feeling the electricity charging her space again and she knew if she were newer to her craft she'd be at risk of setting the entire room ablaze.

So instead she pulled a pair of orange jogging pants out of the bottom drawer of her dresser and yanked them on, still mumbling to herself, "Who he thinks he is…" and "… must got me twisted. I am Bonnie Bennett, dammit." She pulled a tight, long-sleeved blue fleece over her sports bra, stuffed her feet into her Nike's and her earbuds in her ears and took off out the door.

Bonnie jogged through the empty streets of the campus with her music blaring in her ears. She headed down the path lit with the orange glow of the street lamps.

Huffing and taking it up a notch she ran past the academic buildings and the student center. She hooked a left and panted as she came upon the football stadium, finally slowing her breakneck pace.

At the gates to the field, Bonnie paused to catch her breath, her palms resting on her waist as she gulped down air until she could hear past the thundering of her heartbeat in her ears.

Bonnie lifted her hand to the padlock and muttered a quick charm to unlock it and pushed the gate open and locked it behind her.

As she made her way to the dark fifty-yard line, Bonnie pulled her headphones from her ears and let the silence of the night engulf her.

She hugged her arms around herself and just listened.

The dead calm surrounding her was a direct opposition to the chaos of her insides and she was having a hard time reconciling the two.

On one hand- she wanted to shatter the silence, to scream and holler and get it all out so it would stop eating her up inside. She could feel the anger, at Damon, at herself, at Elena, Kai, the Universe, it was churning a hole in her stomach, creating a bile in her throat, threatening to choke her.

On the other hand, the stillness of the predawn, the chilly snap of the wind on her hot face and neck, the purity of the fresh air, it was calming her involuntarily.

Bonnie dragged her breath in on a sob and shakily she let it go. She closed her eyes and bent over touching her toes, stretching the tight muscles in her calves, hamstrings, and shoulders. She let her fingers find their way into the turf and she pushed the stretch as far and hard as she could, almost as if she could push her frustrations out of her body and into the ground beneath her.

Slowly, she pulled herself back into a standing position, rolling her head on her shoulders.

Standing there at the edge of the football field, surrounded by empty bleachers, Bonnie was reminded of simpler times, happier days. Before vampires had reclaimed Mystic Falls and she had lost every member of her family. Before her best friends fell for a pair of stupid and deadly immortal vampires. Before she fell, too.

 _Except I didn't fall,_ she thought glumly. _I knew exactly what I was getting into._

Bonnie _knew_ Damon Salvatore. She knew he drank from the moment he woke up, until the nightcap he poured before bed.

She knew the monster inside of him that craved and fed on the blood of innocent victims.

And she knew the bone deep, lifelong hurt that he lived with, a product of spending decades virtually alone, feuding with his brother, waiting for a lost love that was never even really his.

She got all that about him. Knew it and understood it.

But what she couldn't understand, couldn't fathom, was how it only took him three days to fuck up something this good.

And it _was_ good.

Or rather, it could be. If either of them could get past their own shit and figure out how to just be together. Bonnie didn't even need them to be happy together all the time; she liked fighting with Damon just as much as he enjoyed screwing with her just because. It was literally what they did.

But that night felt different.

This fight wasn't friendly banter, easily forgiven with a smile and kiss. From the outside, it may look like Bonnie overreacted to a few missed phone calls and a late-night booty call, but that wasn't it at all.

Because she _knew_ Damon Salvatore, and she knew he was keeping something from her, pushing her away. Why else wouldn't he answer and then _lie_ about it? What was it he couldn't tell her?

Instantly the nagging feeling that it was about her was back, had never fully left if she was being honest.

And that was what pissed Bonnie off the most; that she kept feeling so insecure and unsure. When had she gotten so sensitive?

She worked hard to keep herself looking good and feeling good. Her self-esteem wasn't usually in question- she knew she was cute, she knew she was smart, she knew she was a talented witch- no a badass witch, that had clawed her way back from the dead- multiple times! She was amazing!

So why wasn't that enough?

The ex-cheerleader lowered herself to the semi-damp grass of the sidelines and continued her old routine of stretches, letting her body relax into the remembered exercises as her mind circled and circled, trying to sort through her issues.

As she finished her warm-up routine the sky was getting lighter. Bonnie could see the track around the field now.

She kept her pace steady as she took a lap around the track, and then another. The sky was gray as other people began arriving to use the track as well.

Checking her phone for the time Bonnie saw she'd missed several texts from Caroline asking if she was alright, where was she, text me back? Oops. It was almost 6:30 now and she figured she'd just see Caroline back at the room before class and didn't bother to return the texts.

She chuckled dryly, _God, I'm just as bad as he is._

On the way back across campus, Bonnie came across a scene that stopped her in her tracks.

At the History building, the building that housed the Anthropology department and Ric's office, there were several police cars and an ambulance blocking the front entrance and yellow caution tape keeping back a small crowd of people.

Bonnie could see news vans pulling up next to the cop cars as she was getting to the barricade of the police line.

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked one of the guys standing there watching the whole show.

"They found a body in one of the classrooms. One of the custodians walked in and it was all over the place, super nasty," he said with a grin.

Bonnie shivered as her blood ran cold and goosebumps raised on the back of her neck and arms.

"Have they identified the victim?" Bonnie's voice was monotone as the question rolled all too easily off her tongue. She was so tired of asking that question.

"They just know it's a male student," the guy replied and then he turned to spread the word to a couple of newcomers.

Bonnie breathed a little easier knowing it wasn't Alaric that had died last night, but it didn't make her feel any better. If there was a mutilated body in her building no way was she not involved; she just didn't have that kind of luck.

And even as she thought it, her phone vibrated in her jacket pocket. On autopilot Bonnie lifted it to her ear. "Care, I'm fine, I'll be at the room in like 10."

"Bonnie?" A woman's voice, not Caroline's, sniffled over the phone line.

Bonnie pulled the phone away from her face to check the caller ID: Unknown Caller.

"Who is this?" Bonnie asked, snapping out of her reverie at learning yet another student had died at Whitmore.

"It's Jordan, from your Occult Studies class. Something's happened, we need your help."

…..

Damon stormed through the front door of the Salvatore "Boarding House", turning on lights, cranking the stereo. He tossed his jacket over his shoulder on his way to the drink cart behind the couch in the study.

All the while, Stacey followed behind him like a little duckling.

A very hot duckling.

Damon poured her a vodka before pouring himself one, drinking it, and pouring himself another, then taking Stacey her drink.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said, arms spread wide.

"Ha, humble alright." The tall, leggy blonde walked around, taking in the high ceilings and antiquated decor. "This looks like the kind of place you'd see on that show about haunted mansions. You got any ghosts here?"

"More than a few, sweetheart," Damon smirked.

"Cool," Stacey grinned, tossing back her drink in one gulp.

Damon watched from across the room as she swayed to the music pouring through the hidden speakers in the wall, dancing over to the drink cart and helping herself to another glass.

He crossed the floor space between them and swiped her straight blonde hair from over her shoulder, revealing bare skin. Soft skin. Marred with a bite mark that was already healing itself, compliments of his blood.

"You don't think I'm such a bad guy, do you?" His fingers traced over her collarbone and she trembled slightly. He looked into her eyes, compelling her again. "You think I'm a great guy."

"I think you're amazing, Damon," Stacey's eyes went blank as she agreed with him.

Damon lowered his head and let his lips trail down her neck before sinking his elongated fangs into the soft skin there, drinking deeply from her. Her body tensed, shocked at the pain, but she didn't scream.

"Damon, what the hell?" an angry voice interrupted. "What are you doing?"

Damon raised his head, annoyed at the intrusion. "What's it look like, Stefan? Just a little midnight snack!" He withdrew from the girl letting her fall hard to the ground, once again raising his glass to his bloodstained lips.

Stefan entered the study and turned down the stereo, glaring at his brother.

"Since when do you bring your snacks home with you? I thought your 'snacking' days were done."

"I'm a vampire Stefan, 'snacking' is the only thing I'm good at!" Damon fixed his brother a vodka and handed it to him.

"But there's snacks in the fridge, why'd you bring a 'snack' home with you? And why is she bleeding out on the rug? And, _why_ are you drinking vodka? You detest vodka."

"Yes, I do detest vodka. But tonight is a night for self-loathing, hence the 'snack' on the floor, the vodka in the glass and the alt-rock on the radio." Damon took a bow and dropped into the nearest armchair.

Stefan, beginning to understand the situation, sipped his drink, sipped some more, and finally finished it before biting into his wrist and feeding his blood to the semi-conscious girl on the floor. Stacey opened her eyes and looked up at Stefan.

"Why am I on the floor?" she asked accusingly, like Stefan had put there.

Damon answered before Stefan could compel her out the door. "You're such a lightweight, that drink went straight to your head! Come, sit with me," he pouted his lips and pat his knee.

And she went and sat in his lap, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, letting him nestle his head on her chest.

"Stefan did you figure out wha- " Caroline's feminine voice called from the top of the stairs just before she appeared.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Caroline exclaimed as she continued down the stairs in a shirt and sweats that were so baggy that they could only belong to Stefan. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"This again," Damon sighed.

"He's sulking," Stefan answered for him.

"What did you do now? Where's Bonnie?" Caroline demanded.

"What did I do? 'Where's Bonnie?" Damon mimicked. "What about me?! I'm obviously hurting here!"

"Damon," Caroline's tone was saying she wasn't in any mood to play along with his games.

"Her Majesty Queen Bonnie is exactly where I left her after she kicked me out of her room," Damon confessed quietly holding his glass out to his late-night meal for her to refill. "And here I am, in case you wondered, seeking comfort in a glass of wretched liquor and the arms of my new friend Stacey here."

"Hi, I'm Stacey," the young woman greeted from where she poured his glass.

"No," Caroline said in a tight voice, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Her name is Kristen and she was in my Anthro class last year."

"Yeah, but Damon likes Stacey better," she informed them with a bright smile, returning to Damon's lap with his drink.

"What happened, Damon?" Stefan asked.

"What do you think happened, brother?"

"Couples fight, Damon. You and Bonnie literally fight all of the time," Caroline pointed out.

"Not like this," Damon disagreed, recalling again the look on her face as she told him to go. "She meant it this time."

"She always means it. And then you apologize and she forgives you, and you move on. It's what couples do, you idiot," Caroline crossed over to where Damon was seated and pulled Kristen/Stacey by the arm away from him and not so gently pushed her down on the couch.

"Sit here and do not get up, I'm taking you back to campus," she said, compelling the girl to stay put. She turned to Damon in exasperation, "Grow up Damon, stop running away and ruining your own happiness. You can't possibly have that many more second chances coming to you." And with that she stormed off upstairs to change and gather her things.

The Salvatore brothers sat in silence a moment before Damon sighed.

"Just say it Stefan," he said, opening the floor to comments.

"She's right," Stefan began, and Damon nodded.

"I know that, dammit!" Damon burst out, pitching his glass into the empty fireplace in frustration. "What I don't know is how to do this whole infuriatingly slow relationship bullshit that Bonnie has enforced on me. Like, what's the point? If we want to be together why are we fighting it?" He genuinely couldn't understand and he needed help.

Luckily his only sibling seemed to get that.

"Did you tell Bonnie that?" Stefan asked.

"I can't tell Bonnie that, she'll think I'm some creep, sex fiend who can't go a week without getting laid!" Damon leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and sinking his face into his palms. "And in all honesty, I'm starting to think I am, because this? This is torture."

Stefan looked at him seriously. "In all honesty, Damon, she likely already knows. That's probably why she wants to take it slow. To prove she's not just another dent in your crowded headboard. That she's special to you."

"No, Bonnies not the type to play games like that. Besides she already knows how I feel about her."

"You sure about that?"

Damon thought he was sure. "Yeah…" She had to know, right? He'd told her when they first got together. And then…

"God, I'm an idiot," he sighed.

"No shit."

….

A few hours later Stefan turns on the TV mounted on the wall of the kitchen to the morning news as he busies himself making coffee. Neither him nor Damon got much sleep that night and if he was going to formulate and execute a worthy apology to his new girlfriend, Stefan figures Damon will need a few cups of coffee to get him going.

As he fills the coffee maker with water, he listens as the weatherman finishes his forecast and cuts back to the anchorwoman.

"In breaking news, we have Sylvia Clayton at Whitmore College where a student was found dead on campus this morning in what appears to be a brutal murder. Sylvia?

Stefan turns to look at the TV, his eyebrows pulling together in concern. _Who was it, who did it, what happened, where was Caroline?_ all quickly shoots through his mind.

"Thank you, Kim," the middle-aged reporter says. "The campus of Whitmore College is buzzing early this morning as faculty and students come together to once again mourn the loss of a student." The screen cuts to footage of flashing cop cars in the predawn light, flashing away outside of Alaric's office building. "Custodians of the history building found the body of a student in a classroom during a routine sweep of the building prior to classes. Police are saying that foul play was involved and are currently pursuing a homicide investigation." They cut back to the reporter. "The identity of the victim is being withheld until the family can be notified."

The news segment ends and Stefan reaches for his phone on the counter and calls Caroline.

"Hey, you," she answers with a smile in her voice. "I still can't believe Damon ruined our night with his shit, well actually, I totally can. He has like, zero concern for other people, the guys got some serious issues-"

"Care-" he tries interrupting.

"And it's not like my coming back to campus even did any good, I mean, yeah, I got Kristen home safely and away from your demented brother who couldn't even bother to remember her name-"

"Care-" he tries again.

"Like how weird is that? Stacey isn't even a cool name, although I guess she kind of looks like a Stacey, now anyways, you should have seen her freshman year, though, the girl has lost some serious weight."

"Caroline!"

"What's up?" she asks, finally pausing long enough for him to get a word in.

"Where's Bonnie?" he cut right to the chase.

"That's what I was just saying, Stefan, she wasn't even here when I got back to the room this morning. I haven't seen her. I haven't figured out what happened last night. I mean, I texted her but she hasn't responded yet. Although, it doesn't take a genius to see Damon screwed up and she was having none of it! You know. I just want details-"

"Care, you need to find her. Someone was killed on campus last night, they found the body in the Weincroft Building, it's on the news." He finished making a cup of coffee and carried it with him from the kitchen.

"Shit, I'll call you back," and she quickly hung up.

Stefan reached Damon's room and pushed the door open, entering the semi-darkness. Bright morning light appeared in the cracks of the curtains and Stefan unleashed the rays on the room as he pushed the fabric back.

"Ungghh, go away," something mumbled from under pillows and covers.

"Get up, Damon," Stefan ripped the blankets back from the bed, revealing his brother's bare ass. "Here, drink this," he held out the coffee mug while the prone figure rolled over. "Get dressed," he ordered.

"Jesus, Stefan, it's too early; one thing at a time, brother," Damon's voice was still gravelly with sleep but he pushed himself back into an almost seated position, accepting the coffee being forced on him. "I don't remember ordering a wakeup call. Or room service for that matter."

"Damon," Stefan began.

"God, who died?" Damon drawled with a chuckle. But when Stefan didn't laugh back, didn't even respond, Damon finally set up. "What is it, Stefan? Someone died?"

"A body was found at Whitmore this morning."

Damon heard the words leave his brother's mouth. He even registered that someone had died.

He just couldn't understand why Stefan was bothering him with this newsbreak.

"People die at Whitmore all the time, brother, like at least twice a month. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is, it was a student found in the history department. And Caroline says she hasn't seen Bonnie all night. Have you heard from her?"

"No, but that doesn't mean it's her." Damon reached out and snagged his phone phone from the nightstand next to his bed. He had no doubts in his mind that whoever they'd found at Whitmore was not Bonnie. In his heart there was no possibility of it, he'd have felt it on a cellular level or some shit.

Right?

He checked his phone, but it had no messages or missed calls from Bonnie, but his phone buzzed as he was holding it.

"See!" He said, "I told you, she's-" But when he opened the next text he realized it wasn't _his girl_ texting him. It was Stefan's. Also asking if he'd heard from Bonnie.

"Nevermind. Tell Blondie no, I haven't heard from Bonnie, I'm calling her now."

Damon was having a hard time reconciling his faith in Bonnie with Stefan's reaction; his gut was telling him _'she's fine, she can take of herself, she's the most kickass witch I know, etc., etc.'_

And while all of that was fact, his heart had begun thudding in his chest. The irrational side of his brain was preparing himself to find out his girlfriend, his best friend, was dead. He was imagining her mutilated body on the floor in the middle of the hallway as he hit her number in his contacts. As it rang, once, twice, three times he was flashing back to Ric's nightmarish wedding and the day Kai tried to kill her. Again.

And as the call went to her voicemail, he very clearly felt that same rage and fear returning to him...

He hung up, not bothering to leave a message.

"Well?" Stefan asked, eyebrows raised.

Damon was pacing now. "Nothing. She didn't answer." Damon stared at his phone almost willing it to ring.

"I'm calling again," he announced, mashing the touch screen.

"Damon-" Stefan started.

"No, just wait a minute. She's going to answer," Damon was still walking back and forth across the room, bare ass naked. He hadn't even bothered dressing; what did that matter if she wouldn't answer her damn phone.

"You don't know her. She'll answer after the second call." He was sure of it.

"Damon."

"No, Stefan, don't 'Damon' me! She's just pissed about last night, and she's punishing me because I'm such a fucking idiot and- what the fuck Bonnie, _pick up your goddamn phone_!" But no matter how much he yelled it didn't stop it from going to voicemail again.

 _'Hey, it's Bonnie, leave me a message.'_

Dammit. That was two missed calls.

"Let's just head to campus...see if we can find her," Stefan suggested calmly.

"Yeah, let's go- two minutes." Damon blinked down at his piece of shit phone once more before he got moving.

"I'll meet you in the car."

...

"You've got to be shitting me."

Bonnie could not believe her luck.

She had to have the dumbest smart kids on the planet to find their way into Ric's class and, subsequently, her life.

And look at them. They have the nerve to look all scared and sorry after the shit they pulled.

"You _summoned a vengeance demon,_ " she repeated out loud. Again. Because she still could not quite believe the idiocy she had been sucked into. "Like an actual. Vengeance. Demon." She brought her fist down on the table, stressing each word of the ludicrous sentence.

When Jordan called her and told her she was in trouble, Bonnie had presumed that she'd gotten involved with a particularly nasty vampire. And if there was anything Bonnie Bennett could handle, it's a nasty vampire.

But when she met up with the group of students minus one- Paul- and they informed her of how they'd used her voice (recorded without consent) to cast a summoning ritual and bring forth not a deity of love and fertility and rainbows and shit, but instead, a vengeance demon, with the sole purpose of getting back at a classmate of theirs.

Wait, not theirs- Jordan's.

Because, apparently, Cissi, Jayne and Paul, the recently deceased, we're dumb enough to go along with Jordan without knowing any real details.

And apparently Bonnie was just as dumb.

They'd played her. Oh, they'd played her good, and Bonnie hated being tricked. It just about made her crazy. No wonder she had trust issues.

Bonnie looked over at her phone where it was buzzing on Jane's moms' dining room table. The girl's parents were out of town and they 'didn't want to be on campus until the situation was under control.' (I.E: they had turned tail and ran for the hills.)

Damon was calling. Bonnie sighed and let it go to voicemail. She was still a little pissed about last night, about how Damon, the Dumb and Disappointing, had ignored her for hours.

He deserved a taste of his own medicine. Besides she had bigger fish to fry, so to speak.

"Okay," she said, trying to clear her mind and judgements for a moment so she could think pragmatically about 'the situation'. "Tell me everything." Bonnie took a seat at the table with the girls, trying to look like a responsible adult who could handle anything. Because from the looks of these three, that's what they needed most.

None of them looked like they'd slept a wink all night. Jayne had been in tears since Bonnie walked in and Cissi was still wearing a shirt with a splattered bloodstain across the front (not hers, Jordan had informed Bonnie).

The only one capable of forming coherent sentences was Jordan, but she was shaking and rocking back and forth.

"She killed Paul," Jordan whispered.

Bonnie's voice was softer when she spoke again. "I understand that sweetie, but I need you to tell me why and how exactly the four of you got involved with this … thing." Bonnie reached across the table and laid her hand on top of Jordan's, tightly clasped together as they were.

Jordan nodded, but slowly pulled her hands away, resting them in her lap under the table.

Bonnie's phone rang again. Damon, again. _Gah, that's twice in like two minutes, something's up…_ If he calls again she'll have to answer. It was like their code. One is nothing, two he probably just wants a drinking buddy, but three usually meant someone was missing or dying. She couldn't see how anything he was doing was more important that her current predicament, so she let it go to voicemail again, deciding to wait and see if he actually called again.

"Do you need to answer that?" Jordan asked, looking at her phone.

"No, it's fine. Just talk. Please."

So Jordan told Bonnie everything. How they had a friend, Lucy, who had been sexually assaulted at a party early last semester. How she had taken her own life before Thanksgiving break. And how her rapist had walked free. He practically bragged about it all over social media. That was when Jordan, Lucy's former roommate, decided to teach him a lesson. She began researching spells to curse him, but nothing she tried worked; she had no magic.

And then, when she saw Bonnie levitate a guy to the ceiling of the local coffee house, she realized that she was witch. She was the key.

So she got Bonnie to read aloud the incantation, got Paul to sacrifice a live chicken and Jayne and Cissi to donate a bit of blood.

"It was just a pin prick," Cissi added. "We didn't know.."

Bonnie almost felt sorry for them.

Almost.

"What happened next?"

"We were in the classroom and after we played the recording of your voice a couple times, it still wasn't working. So," Jordan paused, swallowing hard. " So, Paul stepped into the center of the pentagram to check the book again..." Jordan paused, like she still couldn't believe what had happened.

"And then?"

Cissi, mascara running down her face, added "The star started glowing. Red. And swirling and a fucking hole, huge, and dark and it had to be h-hell..."

She snapped her palm over her mouth, afraid of saying out loud.

"And this ... thing crawled out. I don't even know how to explain it," Jordan said. "I was sure it was a zombie or a corpse or something. And she, it-it attacked him. She ate. S-sh-she ripped him apart like it was nothing a-and-"

"Okay, I get it." Bonnie stopped Jordan just as she lost it and began sobbing uncontrollably, gasping for air.

Bonnie shoved back from the table and walked over to the other girl who was now full-on hyperventilating. She pulled her chair back from the table and gently pushed her head down into her lap, telling her, "Breathe. Just breathe," and rubbing circles on her back

"You have to reverse it, Bonnie, you can do that, right? You can send it back before it kills anyone else right?" Jayne whispered, speaking for the first time since Bonnie arrived. "Please?"

"It's possible," Bonnie said, already formulating a plan. "We're gonna need to get back to the class where you raised this thing. You just left everything there, right? You didn't remove the doorway?" The girls only looked at her. "The pentagram? Is it still there?"

"The Star? Yeah, it should be. We didn't try cleaning that up, we didn't have time..." Cissi shook her head. "We just left him there. Alone."

"Okay. Well, that 'star' is tying your demon to our world.. When you raised Amakla...

"Amalchba." They said.

"Right," Bonnie rolled her eyes; she didn't have time for niceties, "did you give it instructions on who your...intended target was? Did you give it a name? A photo? Or is it just going to hunt down every molester on campus?"

"His yearbook spread," Jordan answered, raising her head from between her legs. "We ripped his page from the yearbook; the fucking jock had a whole page to himself."

"Okay good, that should limit the destruction. Hopefully. Maybe it only went after Paul because he was closest to-"

Bonnie's phone rang yet again. Number three. Something was really wrong, like someone's dying wrong.

If she didn't answer she was officially being petty; not that Damon didn't deserve it, because he did. He didn't answer when she was calling, worried sick about him. Not that she had called three times in a row, because if she had, that would've meant trouble and she hadn't wanted to worry him. That was how much she cared about him and what did she get in return? Nothing but heartache!

"Crap." Bonnie decided quickly to rise above his pettiness and just answer, but really she was just worried someone else was in trouble. "Excuse me" she told the trio of wannabe witches, before clicking the 'accept' button.

"What's wrong?" She barked, cutting straight to the chase.

Damon let out a sharp puff of air like he'd been holding his breath.

"Are you kidding me right now? ' _What's wrong?'_ I have been losing my mind looking for you! _'What's wrong'_!" his voice went up a couple decibels and Bonnie held the phone away from her ear to save her hearing. She turned from the room and stepped out into the hall.

"Now's not a great time, Damon,"she said, keeping her voice low. "So whatever crisis you think you're having, maybe you could handle it yourself this time."

"Whatever crisis-?" Damon's voice was was appalled but quickly became irate. "Bonnie I thought you were DEAD! I called and you didn't answer. Twice! You always answer the second time! Always, no matter what, that was the deal!"

"What?! No, Damon. The deal is three times, and _at least I picked up!"_ She whispered through gritted teeth to keep from screaming at him.

"Since when is it three calls? When did we change the code?" Damon argued.

"Jesus H. Christ, it's _always_ been- you know what? It doesn't matter. I'm not dead." His reason for calling finally clicked for her. "Wait, why would you think I'm dead? And don't you dare say because I didn't answer the stupid calling code."

Damon breathed a short sigh. "Because Bonnie, someone was murdered in your building last night. On the campus where I left you, alone and defenseless, last night. I was worried about you. It's been all over the news."

As sweet as he thought he was being right now, she couldn't help but take offense at his worrying. "Oh, I'm sorry, did justyou say defenseless?"

"Come on, that's not how I meant it."

"How _did_ you mean it then? Because it sounds like you think I need you to protect me, like I can't take care of myself, like I'm some damsel in distress, too stupid to know how to take down an attacker. Is that what you think? That I can't protect myself?" Bonnie was blowing his comment out of proportion and she knew it, she just couldn't stop herself. She was still itching for a fight after last night and was feeling a more than a little defensive.

"Okay, Bonnie, I'm gonna need you to hop off the crazy train for me, 'cause I didn't say any of that. What I said was that I heard there was a **body** found **dead** on your campus and that my illogical madly-in-love-with-you brain jumped to the conclusion that **you** were said body and that I would have to go murder someone, or several someones, I don't know, but for about 15 minutes there, I could see _very_ clearly what the next few decades would be like without you and I gotta say Bennett, it scared the shit outta me, okay." He ended his rant slightly out of breath and Bonnie could only stand there listening to it.

"Madly in love with me, huh?" She grinned into the phone.

Damon released a brief laugh. "Yeah, like you didn't already know."

"Well, sometimes a girl needs to hear it," she said softly.

Damon paused. "Duly noted. Now, where are you?"

"Oh, you know, just dealing with the aforementioned dead body situation. I'll text you the address."

"Okay. And Bonnie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, and I am really glad that you're not dead," Damon told her, and she could hear the smirk on the face, could feel it matching her own.

"Thanks, babe. I think I needed that."

They both let that hang in the air for a moment before Bonnie had to go.

"Now, get that sweet ass of yours over here and help me deal with this shit show."

"Yes ma'am," he assented playfully. Gone was the anger he'd had when she first picked up the phone.

"Oh, and Damon? Don't think for a second this means I'm not still mad at you about last night."

And she clicked to end the call.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hi guys! Author feels really bad about not posting this! I've been sitting on it since 2016, but after I wrote it I didn't love where the story was going- it felt like a whole other story to explore and hopefully it will be. So I just never posted it. But I've been writing again. And I've missed your positive words, and I've missed my version of Bamon. So, I hoped you enjoyed this one. Tell me what you think!


	22. Blame Game

Blame Game

Damon Salvatore and the word boundaries didn't really exist in the same realm. He basically figured he had lived for 170 plus years and there wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. Nothing he couldn't handle.

So, when he and Elena returned to the present day from their failed rescue attempt of a Bennett witch, he didn't even feel a little bad about stealing said witch's diary.

He had checked her room for her and saw it sitting on the side table next to her bed where he'd seen her writing in it often, and he took it. When they were both still trapped there in 1994, Damon often wondered what she was writing about. If she was writing about him. Now he figured, what was the harm in finding out, it's not like she could kill him from the prison world.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Today is May 10th. Again. Me and Damon have lived the same day 13 times now. 13 god awful breakfasts of his stupid pancakes. 13 god forsaken total eclipses. And it only took me 12 of those days to have a total emotional breakdown in front of the last person I'd expect to handle it well. But, surprisingly, he took it better than I did_...

"You were right, Damon. You were right and I was wrong and I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're stuck here, that I couldn't save you."

"Bonnie, you're drunk, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm not that drunk and seriously it's all my fault. I couldn't hold the Other Side together."

Damon didn't quite know what to say to that. He's spent weeks throwing it in her face that she was useless and the reason they were both still in hell. He was just shocked that she was finally listening to him, she never did that.

"No need to look so confused, I am legitimately agreeing with you. You're right! I was a useless witch, and a straight failure of an anchor. I mean, come on, Amara managed to hold it together for two thousand years and I couldn't keep it up for half a year! That's comical right! Elena's batshit crazy skinnyass original dopplegangee held it together for centuries and I didn't even get 6 months! How pathetic is that Damon! That's the real joke isn't it!"

"Bonnie. You're losing it, you're cracking up and you're letting this place get to you."

"The only thing getting to me is the bourbon, Caroline was right about that much. You are a bad influence!" Her laughter was genuine. "I literally dragged you to hell with me and you're still the bad influence! Wow."

"Okay, featherweight, I'm cutting you off." He pulled the glass from her hand.

"Come on, we are celebrating you! You saved everyone, Damon. You brought me back from the dead. You saved your brother, your girl, your best friend, they all made it back, because of you. You were brave enough to do what had to be done even if it killed you. You died a hero Damon, here's to you!" Bonnie snatched up the bottle they had cracked open that evening. She held it aloft in a toast. "To Damon I dont know your middle name Salvatore, the only one of us actually successful at bringing back the dead, and here you are, dead right along with me."

"Bonnie, you got the others home, you're the one that saved them."

"No. See, what I did was die to bring back the 'love of my life', who had cheated on me, let's be clear." She tipped the bottle back again, feeling the liquor burn down to her stomach. "And then like the fool that I am, I fell in love with him all over again."

"Bonnie, come on, stop-" he reached for the bottled, but Bonnie sidestepped away from him.

"No, Damon, you stop. You rant and rave at me all the fucking time, now it's my turn. I stood around hiding behind my totally sweet, if not sexually inept, high school sweetheart while you made a deal with Qetsiyah to make me the Anchor. And then I stood around some more while the Other Side disintegrated. And then I stood around while every single one of the travelers pushed through me back and forth to the Other Side. I stood there and let everyone I know march right through me and go back to the land of the living and what do I have to show for it?" She began ticking her failures off on her fingers, "There's no way out of this time loop. I can't do magic to save my life, literally. And you will never see the beautiful and-" she paused to insert air quotes- "'talented' Elena ever again."

"Whoa, reign in the claws there, Itty Bitty Kitty. What's with the dig at Elena, what'd she ever do to you?" He plucked the bottle from her grip and gladly guzzled the last of it from her.

"Oh well, how much time you got?" she laughed. "Never mind, you've got eternity! Let's see here: she let her boyfriend and his ego maniacal brother force my Grams and I to do a spell that killed her."

"Don't blame Elena for that one, that was... my bad."

"My mother was turned into a vampire to save her life."

"Again, that's on me."

"She tried to fucking kill me."

"Her humanity was off, which, technically I was to blame for that too."

"She didn't realize I was dead for 3 months."

"You're the one that had Little Gilbert lying to everyone."

"Well," Bonnie was clearly reaching now. "She wasn't even interested in Matt until he started eating lunch with ME!"

"So now she stole Matt from you?" Damon shook his head and barely resisted the urge to find another bottle of bourbon. "Petty is so not a good look on you, Bonnie."

"I'M ALLOWED TO BE PETTY, I'M DEAD! AND I HAVE TO SPEND THE REST OF MY AFTERLIFE WITH YOU REPEATING THE SAME GODDAMN DAY OVER AND OVER!" she burst out. "If anyone gets to wallow in self pity and pettiness, it's me! Me, who died. Twice! Me, who couldn't even keep the other side up for 6 months. Me, who is the reason you don't even get to burn in hell for eternity for all the evil shit you put me though! I couldn't even do that right." Bonnie plopped down on the sofa, utterly defeated, swiping the evidence of her tears from her face.

Damon knelt in front of her and pulled her hands away from her face. He brushed her tears away, even as they increased, as her gasping breaths became racking sobs. He held onto her as she fought to pull air into her lungs around the fierce ache in her chest and head, as she mourned the life she didn't see ever returning to. He joined her on the couch and stiffly pulled her into his arms and rocked her silently as she cried herself out. And when her sobs slowed, and her breathing evened, he stopped their rocking but kept her tucked into his side, chin resting on the crown of her head.

"You feel better now?" he asked. Bonnie offered a weak chuckle and a nod in reply.

In the short weeks they had been living together in the deserted version of their hometown, Damon had always been the one to do the yelling and throwing things, physically and verbally expressing his anger at having lost everything he loved. Bonnie was set on hero mode- researching grimoires and working on some semblance of a plan. That is until now. Until this moment, Damon hadn't grasped that she was hurting, too. That she felt eerily similar to how he felt- angry and guilty and lost. He hadn't seen her pain, that's how strong she was and yet she couldn't see that in herself. Damon cleared his throat.

"While your little diatribe was eloquently delivered, there are a couple points I'd like to make. Yes, you are the reason that I am here and not burning in a literal hell for my sins. For the record, that's one I'd put firmly win column. And... And I may have pulled you back from the Other Side the first time but I didn't do it alone. We got you back, together. We got everyone back home, together. You and me. Because when we aren't screaming at each other, we make a pretty great team. We always survive and we will find a way to survive this hell loop. Without killing one another, preferably. Because you are actually kind of interesting when you want you to be. Like that little tidbit about the Quarterback? How long have you been crushing on the Blonde Boy Wonder, huh? I can't believe I didn't see that one. Like what is it about him that attracts insanely beautiful women? I mean, not that I'm calling you insanely beautiful... You are. But that's beside the point... Bonnie? Boonnie?" Damon leaned back enough to see that Bonnie had fallen asleep on his chest. "That's right, you rest. Because tomorrow, I get to begin taunting you about your sexually inept boyfriend, Baby Gilbert. It's going to be a long day."

Damon grinned halfheartedly and tossed a blanket over the ex-witch slash anchor and made himself comfortable, taking care not to wake her.

"I'm gonna get us out of here," he whispered as he shut his eyes.

 _But yeah, long story short, I woke up this morning cuddled up on the couch with one Damon Salvatore. It was the absolute worst! I was wrapped around him like a damn boa constrictor._

 _I can't say I was entirely surprised by my behavior; I've been known in the past to become emotional and touchy feely when I'm tipsy. I've woken up cuddling with Elena and Caroline... And Jer. And Matt one time actually. I miss them so much it hurts. All the time._

 _But there is no excuse for Damon! I'm supposed to believe he just fell asleep comfortably with me on top of him and didn't notice me trying to cuddle him to death? And I'm pretty sure he was not just under me, but he was holding me. All night. It was just so intimate. Why didn't he just go to bed and leave me there in a drunken mess? Or He could have carried me to bed just as easily. He's totally planning to use it against me later. I'm never going to hear the end of it._

 _At least I've got something on him now, too. He thought I was asleep and didn't hear him call me Insanely Beautiful._

 _So there's that._

 _-B_

 **A/N**

 **I hope this wasn't too confusing. It's fluff. I'm in a fluffy mood.**

 **It's a flashback in a flashback of a flashback? Damon has just left the prison world with Elena after failing to bring Bonnie back with them. He's disappointed, angry, in his feels, and his misses his friend. So of course when granted the opportunity he steals her journal and reads it. He thinks of the night she wrote about in the entry. So you kind of see both sides of their story.**

 **I've got a few of these taking up space in my doc list in case they go over well. People always wonder exactly how Bamon fell in love and this is my answer. Small part of it anyway.**

 **Happy Holidays,**

 **-T**


	23. The Stakeout

This is another fairly long chapter, but they have a lot to work out. Gets graphic.

Disclaimer. Not my characters.

 **The Stakeout**

They were finally alone together.

They'd spent all day working on the next big Baddie threatening the town they lived in and coming up with the best possible plan and now they were executing it: babysit the scumbag rapist until said Big Baddie, Amalchba, pays him a visit.

It may not have been the most proactive play they'd ever come up with but it did score them a couple hours of togetherness that they'd been lacking lately.

"Hey," Bonnie spoke from the front seat of the Camaro. They were staked out in front of Scumbag Rapists apartment and Bonnie was trying to finish a double bacon cheeseburger from the burger joint around the corner. "You know what? One of these days, I'm gonna get you to take me out on a real date."

"I guess this is kind of a crappy one, huh?" Damon was sitting behind the wheel, watching Bonnie struggle through one of the biggest burgers he'd ever seen. It was amusing that she'd even tried. He was teasing her at the restaurant when he told her she couldn't possibly eat that whole burger, and that she'd end up wasting it. She took that as a challenge and had ordered an even bigger sandwich just to prove him wrong, going so far as to add extra mustard and onions. Probably hoping to really turn him off. _Good luck with that one, babe_.

"Damon, I don't think this even qualifies as a date. This is, at best, a working dinner." Her mouth was full and she tried her best not to drop any food out of it, swallowing it down. "No, I'm talking about a real date. One where I get to dress up and eat with a fork. Maybe sit at a table, I don't know."

"Oh, you want the whole wined and dined experience, do you?" Damon grinned at her.

"Yes! A whole civilized night, just you and me and a meal that I don't have to eat with my hands." She looked warily at the third of her sandwich still left in the wrapper and sighed. "It's gonna be awesome."

"Well, you're in luck BonBon, because I happen to be one of the classiest guys in the world and I would be delighted to take you out for a night on the town."

"Is that right?"

"Oh yeah. I can do classy with the best of them. I put the Queen of England to shame in the class department. Matter of fact, I taught the old girl everything she knows about class." That got a laugh out of Bonnie. God, it was good to see that smile again. Good to be the cause of it. No matter how briefly it lasted.

She was staring glumly at the half-eaten sandwich in her hands again, like if she could just raise it to her mouth one more time she could finish it.

"I'm serious, Bonnie," Damon said reaching out and swiping a bit mustard from the corner of her lips with his thumb. She looked at him with her sad hazel eyes and he knew it wasn't just the sandwich that was weighing on her. He gently pulled the messy cheeseburger from her hands with very little protest on her part and in three huge bites made it disappear. "We're gonna get that date eventually," he said through a mouthful of the sandwich, which to him had all the flavor of actual sand.

"I really tried to finish that damn thing, I swear," she sighed, rubbing at her distended belly.

"I know," he replied, still chewing.

"I didn't mean to waste it..."

"Bon, it's fine, you didn't. See? Ahhh," he stuck his tongue out showing her he had mostly finished the stupid sandwich.

"Eww, Damon that's gross," she squealed.

He just chuckled as he took a big swig of the orange soda in her to-go cup, washing the remnants of her meal away and tossing the balled up wrapper into the paper bag and the paper bag in the floor of the backseat.

"That was really sweet of you, thanks," Bonnie said quietly as she leaned her seat back a bit to stretch out.

"Anytime."

They looked at each other for a moment before turning their gazes back to the front door of the apartment where the Scumbag Rapist/future victim lived. The apartment complex looked fairly new and the area was pretty quiet considering a bunch of college kids stayed there. There were several other cars in the first couple rows of the parking lot, not unusual for an early afternoon on a weeknight. But there weren't a lot of people coming and going and there was nothing else to draw their attention.

They'd put off this conversation for as long as they could. They'd been doing this polite, cheerful little dance around each other all day, not saying what was really on their minds. Just trying not to make it worse.

When Damon had arrived at Jayne's house with reinforcements in the form of Stefan and Caroline, he was greeted by a Bonnie in full business mode.

She graciously accepted his coffee and scone and introduced the group of vampires to her students. Bonnie wasted no time filling everyone in; she even called Alaric and had him on speaker phone so she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

Damon sat quietly, listening as Bonnie laid out the details of the plan to first capture and then either kill or banish the demonic goddess back to where she came from.

It was decided that Bonnie and Damon would go and keep an eye on the next victim, Scotty Evans- soccer star and all around douchebag- and try to take down the demon. In the meantime, Caroline and Stefan would go secure the crime scene and prep the portal. Shouldn't take more than a couple hours, right?

Wrong.

Bonnie and Damon followed Scott from class to practice to dinner and then finally back to his apartment, all the while chatting politely and agreeably: this guy had it coming, and these girls were morons for summoning a demon to do their bidding, and that someone oughta pay them for every time they saved the day around here.

But eventually they ran out of things to agree upon and since Amalchba was still nowhere in sight, Damon figured they should finally talk about what had occurred the night before.

Damon cleared his throat, "Bonnie, look. About last night-"

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said quickly, stealing his thunder.

"What? You're sorry? I'm sorry!" Damon was a bit confused. "I'm the one who acted like a total dick. What are you apologizing for?"

"I shouldn't have kicked you out," she admitted.

"Are you kidding? I totally deserved to be kicked out of your bed. I was wasted. I never called you back..."

"Oh no, you totally had it coming," Bonnie agreed. "Like what kind of asshole let's himself into a girl's room, drunk, in the middle of the night? You're lucky you left with all your original parts!"

"Yikes," he muttered, visualizing just how real a threat that was.

"But still, I probably could have handled it better."

"Babe, I don't ever want you to apologize for calling me out on my shit. For standing up for yourself and demanding I treat you better." He reached over and caught a big fat tear on her cheek before it could get away from him, and she blinked the rest away. "I love that you do that, that you can handle yourself. It's one of the sexiest things about you- "

"Really?" Bonnie interrupted softly, like she was surprised to hear this from him.

Damon chuckled. "Yes, woman. I find it incredibly sexy when you remind me that you could dismember me without breaking a sweat." Bonnie just rolled her eyes like she thought he was messing with her. "I'm serious! I'm not saying it's logical, but it's such a turn on- you get this look like you want to strangle me and, I don't know, somehow knowing you could probably hurt me, but you won't - it just does something for me. I know it's weird, don't give me that look," because she was definitely looking at him like he'd lost his mind, "but that's not the point! The point is, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I put you in a position where you felt like you had to put your guard up against me. I'm sorry for all that shit last night, it's not gonna happen again. I promise."

Bonnie nodded, still processing his apology, still trying to figure out how to say what she needed to say. Absently, she uncrossed her arms and reached her hand out to take Damon's where it had found it's way to her knee. She wound her slender fingers in between his large ones and studied their contrasting skin tones for a moment. Damon brought her knuckles up to his face and gently pressed them to his lips.

"I missed you last night," he continued, speaking into her hand. "I missed you so much I couldn't stay away from you any longer. I just wanted to feel you, smell you, hear your voice..."

Bonnie pulled their hands away from his face but kept them wound together.

"Then you-"

"Should've called," Damon helped her finish her sentence. "I know."

"Then why didn't you? You don't think I missed you last night, too? I did. I wanted to see you and be with you and at least I called, Damon."

"I just-" he stopped short.

"Just what?" Bonnie insisted, but he shook his head. "No, say it. Tell me why you wanted to stay away from me last night. Because I thought things were going good between us, for once."

"They were, they are, Bonnie. It's stupid," he said, avoiding her eyes. How was he supposed to tell her this and she not get mad again?

"It's me, isn't it? You're mad at me because I won't sleep with you." She knew it, she knew that was what it was!

"It's not that I'm _mad_ about it, I'm just trying to respect it. I didn't want you to feel like I was hounding you for it when you clearly weren't ready, and-" he paused, trying to be delicate for once in his life. "Sharing a bed with you, babe, it only makes me more _ready_. In fact, it doesn't take much to make me ready, if you know what I mean."

She was looking at him like he was crazy again. "That's it? You wanted to keep me from feeling your boner when we cuddle?" So much for delicacy.

"It's not just that."

"So what else is it then?" Bonnie was finally getting him to open up and it excited her. She turned in fhe seat to face him and pulled her feet up and tucked them underneath her. She slid her hand out of Damon's grasp quickly replacing it with the other; she just needed her left arm to prop up on the half reclined seat. _What a great place to be having this conversation_ , she thought.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure how much more rejection my ego could take." He kept his eyes trained on the front door of the apartment that they were supposed to be staking out. Talking wasn't at the top of his list of favorite activities and this one was brutal, but necessary.

She shook his hand to get him to face her, "Hey, I'm not rejecting you. Or your...ego," she grinned.

"You're not?" his eyebrow rose in suspicion.

"No." It was now her turn to explain herself. "First off, I don't get down before the third date, and since I can't seem to get a first date...", she shrugged as if saying it wasn't her fault they were in this predicament.

"What does that matter, though? We've known each other for years; it's not like we're strangers! We are best friends for crying out loud."

"That's just it. We've known each other as friends and even enemies, hell, even as frenemies. But not ever as more than that. Not as lovers." She was quiet again, almost shy. "And I don't know... that kind of scares me a little."

Damon's eyebrows shot up at that. He'd worried that this was the case but didn't want to believe it could be true.

"You're scared of sleeping with me? You know I'd never hurt you, right? I'd never do anything to harm you, Bonnie," his fingers squeezed around hers.

"It's not the sleeping I'm worried about," she teased in her best Damon impression, hoping to lighten the mood, but judging by the roll of his eyes he wasn't going for it. Okay, no funny business, then.

"I'm not scared of being with a vampire, Damon-" he shot her a look that clearly asked if she had been with some vampire he didn't know about, "-and no, I've never slept with a vampire before, geez. You'd be my first. But I trust you to take care of me physically and I know you wouldn't hurt me like that."

"Then _what_ are you so afraid of?" Now he didn't know what to worry about. "Wait, what do you mean ' _hurt you like that_ '?"

When Bonnie didn't respond immediately, just sat there chewing on that lower lip of hers, staring at the door they were watching, Damon finally got it. She was protecting herself. Her heart.

From him.

"You're afraid I'm gonna hurt you?" He put his free hand under her chin and forced her shiny green eyes to look at him.

"I think you could," she breathed out a sigh like she'd been holding her breath for days now. "I just keep expecting you to come to your senses and decide I'm not the one you really wanted after all. That no one compares to the love of your life. To Elena." She finally said it, put it all out there. Moment of truth.

Damon was stunned. He should have seen that coming, but he hadn't. It had blindsided him and after 170-odd years it was hard to surprise him with anything. He opened his mouth but the right words didn't automatically float out on their own. He snapped his mouth shut again.

"Look, I know you and her had this epic love story, and that the story wasn't supposed to end with her in a box and you out here with me, but here we are and I can't help but feel bad. That I get to be so happy with you while she's waiting for you in there, how could I do that to her? How can I do that and still be her best friend, Damon?" She just looked at Damon through watery eyes and be pulled her into his chest and held her there quietly as her tears spilled over again and again. She was grieving the loss of her best friend the way she hadn't been able to do while taking care of Damon and Ric as they drank their way through Eastern Europe. He let her cry it out on him and to his chagrin he felt a few stray tears leave his own eyes.

After a minute or two, Bonnie's breathing evened out and she unfisted her fingers from Damon's shirt and smoothed it out as best she could. She couldn't fix the salt stain her tears had left though; she just rested her warm cheek over top of it and held on to him.

"You know. It's usually the guy that cries on the next girl's shoulder about _his_ ex-girlfriend. Not the other way around," Damon tried to joke, lifting the mood in the car.

"Yeah, well. Since when do we do anything the right way?"

"True."

She was still waiting for him to contradict her fears, he could feel the tension in her neck and shoulders as he ran his hand over her back.

"Listen, Bonnie. I'm not waiting on Elena anymore. We don't have some big reunited romance waiting for us in the future. It's my fault that she's where she is and not living her life right now, with the man she was always supposed to end up with: My brother. So, yes, I feel bad that Elena's sleeping her life away, too. But I don't feel bad for falling in love with her best friend. I don't feel guilty for being lucky enough to find this again. I don't usually get that lucky, so I'm not going to question it anymore, I'm not going to fight it anymore. I'm just gonna try to get you to understand how I feel about you. Because, apparently, I've been doing a pretty shitty job at it so far. Another thing I should apologize for," Damon shook his head. He hated when Stefan was right. He pulled back from Bonnie and tilted her face up to his, making sure her eyes were totally on his before continuing. "Bonnie Bennett, you are the greatest thing in my life. Not just my life right now, but in all the lifetimes I've lived. I can't see myself loving anyone that's not you, just as you are. I'm with you because I want to be with you. Because I can't physically keep my hands off of you. Because I can't go a full 2 hours-2 minutes even- without your face flashing through my mind. Because you are kind and mean at the same time. Because I met all three of your personalities and it didn't make me wanna run for cover. Instead, you make me want to... to throttle you and protect you at the same time. Because you don't need me to rescue you at all, because you are the greatest. It is not because my ex-girlfriend is in a coffin. You're not a second-place consolation prize. You are the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. You're it Bonnie. You're everything." He held her in his intense gaze for a moment before she finally cracked a grin. Thank God, that smile was back. He'd do anything to keep it there the rest of his life. "And I will tell you so every damn day if you want, I just didn't know you were so into the mushy intimate stuff or I would've told you sooner-"

Bonnie pulled herself the last four or five inches between them and put her lips to his in the sweetest kiss imaginable. She kissed him once, then twice before pushing her cold little fingers through his hair and pulling him closer, opening her mouth for him and taking his lips in her own. Damon could taste the salt of her dried tears, not to mention the bacon cheeseburger, and he sucked her in harder, happy to follow whatever pace she wanted to set. He moved his hand to her waist to pull her even closer and Bonnie arched into him, pushing up on her knees as she explored her tongue deeper into his mouth. She wrapped one arm around his neck to keep him there and her other hand was locked under his jaw, tilting his lips up to hers now that she had the higher ground, but it was like she couldn't get close enough. She moved to hook her leg over his but she knocked her knee on the cup that was still half filled with soda, and before she could even pull back to check if she'd spilled it, Damon opened the door and chucked it out.

"Litterbug," she growled, biting down on his bottom lip.

"Tree hugger," Damon laughed back as she finally got her leg where she wanted it so she could straddle his lap.

Damon's hands pushed up under the hem of her tank top and Bonnie hummed in pleasure against his lips. She sat back just enough to open the big flannel shirt she was wearing and drag it off her shoulders. Damon saw what she wanted and pulled it the rest of the way off, freeing her soft yet strong shoulders from the fabric. His lips found her neck and he sucked kisses from her jaw to top of her breast. Bonnie's breathing sped up, her knees tightened on his hips, and she tilted her head back so he could keep going.

"Bonnie...?" He asked with his face buried in her cleavage.

"Yes," she knew exactly what he was asking and she totally on board. "Please don't stop" she sighed.

Damon grinned at the breathiness of her voice as he pulled down the cups of the bra built into her tank top and laid his eyes on the full, soft, brown breasts that popped out, nipples already hardening. He focused his lips on the right one and slid his tongue over her nipple again and again, circling it before sucking it into his mouth tenderly.

Bonnie gasped out and tightened her grip in his hair and dragged his face back to hers to kiss him again. But Damon wasn't finished with what he'd started. He pushed her back so he could get back to her chest. She pulled her arms out of the straps of her tank and Damon pushed it further down her stomach so he could see her better, a growl of appreciation rising in his throat as his lips reintroduced themselves to Leftie.

Bonnie's hands roamed over his back and shoulders before she decided, "Too many clothes," and she pulled the hem of his t-shirt up. Damon helped, raising his arms up, before returning to work on her nipples with his tongue while his hands explored further south.

"Bonnie..." He voice was low, a warning this time, not a question.

In response, Bonnie reached down between the seat and the door and felt around until she found the lever to let the seat back. She leaned into him reclining the seat so they were almost laying down, her on top of him.

"Shhhh," she hissed into his lips, her bare breasts and hard nipples pressed into his chest, his big hands wrapped around her waist. She lowered her lips to his neck and sucked the soft salty skin there before trailing her kisses down one shoulder and across his chest to his other shoulder. Damon was breathing hard himself when she sat up in his lap and started undoing her belt.

"Fuck it, I'm never wearing jeans again, I don't care who I'm hunting," she panted out, as she struggled to push the tight denim down her ass.

"Dammit Bonnie, one of us has to have the good sense to stop this, " he said through gritted teeth.

"Good luck with that babe, train's already left the station. Now help me out of these?" She had to climb back into the passenger seat and let Damon yank off her boots and then pants from her feet, sighing when he relieved her of the constricting fabric. She pulled her shirt up over her head and suddenly she was wearing nothing but a tiny lavender thong.

"Oh, God help me, look at you," Damon murmured to himself.

"Do you like it?" She asked as she climbed back into his lap. She pulled her panties up higher so he could see them in the dim light coming through the foggy windows. "Got it just for you," she teased.

"You're not playing fair Bonnie. Our first time together shouldn't be in the front seat of a car." Damon groaned. "It should be romantic and..." she'd gone back to kissing him and had, not so subtly, placed his hands on her ass. Oh, not the ass, oh how he loved this ass. "...and not smell like a bacon cheeseburger... oh shit," she was grinding into him now, oh no wait- his hands were moving her ass for her, pressing her down on his rock hard dick, still trapped in his own jeans, ".. with extra onions."

She moaned and grabbed his jaw roughly in her hand and stared into his eyes and through gritted teeth told him, "Damon, I love you, but shut up and fuck me before the monster we came here for shows up or I sweartogod FunBon will rise up likely murder you..."

And there it was; she had that _I'm gonna maim you any second now_ look That look had his dick just about jumping out of his pants and Bonnie saw it in his eyes when he decided to comply with her wishes.

She sat back and helped him undo his belt and then the button and zipper, more of a hindrance than a help honestly, and when his cock was finally out, standing at full attention between them, Bonnie took a moment to just gaze at it.

"Hello, Soldier," she breathed. As much as she wanted to do this right, and give him the attention that such a beautiful girth deserved, she couldn't wait any longer. She was so wet she was dripping down the insides of her thighs; she didn't know how he could smell a cheeseburger when all she could smell was her own juices soaking through her tiny panties.

Damon pulled her back into his chest with one strong steady arm and let his other hand slide over her ass and up-

"Ah!" She clenched as his fingers pushed her thong aside and crept up into her dripping vagina.

"You're already so wet," Damon murmured into her shoulder. "You ready for me?" Bonnie huffed and fiercely nodded her head. "I want to hear you say it." Damon insisted.

"Yes," she gasped out as his fingers rubbed her clit once, twice.

"Yes, what?" He prompted. His fingers inched into her hot slit.

"Yes, Damon, fuck me!" She almost screamed as he slid the tip of himself up into her tight wet lips, lubricating his cock with her arousal. He was dying to go slow for her, but she wanted it bad and was straining against his arms to push herself down on him.

"Ah," she groaned.

"I know, baby, just hold on a second," he was sweating now, his arms slipping around her waist trying to hold her steady as he slowly pushed himself further into her slick walls. He kissed her neck, licking the sweat dripping off her and pulled back to watch her eyes roll back into her head. Her nails dug into his shoulders as with one final push he pressed her down onto his balls.

"Oh shit, Bonnie," was all the encouragement she needed to take it from there. She squeezed the muscles of her walls around his cock as she lifted off him almost to the tip and slowly came back down, following his lead and warming up to the good stuff. She did this again and again until she found her rhythm. She pushed his shoulders back down to the seat and rode him as hard as she could. He held onto her hips so he wouldn't slip out of her as she began to buck up and down.

"Damon" she whimpered out.

"I'm right here, baby, ," he groaned, matching her stroke for stroke, while trying to maintain his control.

She could feel the orgasm coming and wanted it she just.. "Harder, I'm so close, don't stop, Oh God oh God ohhh", she begged him.

She braced her hands on the roof above her and pushed down with all her might and Damon pushed his hips up into her again and again.

Damon fisted Bonnie's hair and kissed her. His tongue fucked her mouth just as surely as his dick was fucking her pussy-

She was close, she was right there, amd he could feel it building in her like a dam ready to burst.

So quick that Bonnie missed the movement altogether, Damon flipped them into the passenger seat and reclined it all the way back. Bonnie found herself pressed into the leather with Damon stroking deep into her, her legs spread as wise as he could get them, her feet pushing all kinds of buttons on the dashboard.

Each stroke had Bonnie crying out for more, singing his name, his praises. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe until-

Bonnie threw her head back and grunted as a wave of orgasmic pleasure rocked through her and she convulsed around Damon and he pistoned into her as he exploded right after her. They held each other tight and moved together until their limbs went limp and he collapsed onto her chest and she onto the slick, sweaty leather seat. Damon easily shifted them so Bonnie lay on his chest once again and they panted, hearts pounding away together as they waited for their strength to return.

"Wow," Damon whispered into the sudden quiet.

"Mmm-hm" Bonnie hummed contentedly, her face plastered to his chest. She'd seen stars, maybe even heaven itself. It felt like she had reached some higher power, maybe God, and it had crawled into her and taken up residence in her soul. It was still shaking her, vibrating her as she felt it stir again.

"You okay?" Damon asked, gathering her sweaty hair off her back and out of her face. "I didn't hurt you…?

"Mmm-hm," she grunted again. "I need a minute to...pull back together." She tried to lift her face off his chest. "Don't wanna move."

"Well, honey, that's the big drawback of doing it a car on a stakeout; you can't really bask in all the afterglow glory, you've got to get moving..." He hinted. "Continue the mission...?"

"You-you just... and then you...unnhh and.. Whoa," Good lord, she talking gibberish, couldn't even string a complete sentence together.

"Me? No, that was all you, Miss Bennett." Damon chuckled. "You are truly something else."

She just shook her head, she wasn't sure her brain was still connected to her body and she didn't want to risk sounding even more like a lunatic.

Damon realized she wasn't going to actually move by herself, so he sat up and lifted her hips off him to pull out of her but left her sitting on his knees. Not like he could feel anything below the waist anyway. Her eyes were still closed and she had this dreamy little smile on her face and Damon couldn't help but feel proud of himself for giving her that look. It was so cute and innocent, such a stark contrast to the look she'd given him before she'd blown his mind a moment ago.

"Look at me Bonnie," he whispered. Was she falling asleep?!

"Kay."

"Open your eyes," he said persuasively. She sighed and did as he asked and opened her dark green eyes to look into his dark blue eyes.

"Babe," he said with a smug little smirk on his face, "I love you-"

"I love you too Damon," she leaned forward to kiss him again.

"But, I need you to put you clothes back on," he finished politely trying to get her to snap out of it before someone caught them sitting naked in his car.

"Bae, I can't feel my arms," Bonnie giggled.

Good grief, the girl was punchy. Slap happy.

"Okay, you have got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen in my entire life," he said to himself, feeling around on the floor for clothes, anything. "It's good to know now that you're completely useless after sex." He found her tank top and turned it back to right side out before putting it over her head and fishing her arms through. "Guess that rules out all the sandwiches I envisioned you making me post coitus."

"Pssh," she said. At least she was clear enough to understand him.

"Yeah, okay, but a guy can dream, right?" He lifted her off his legs and set her in the driver seat. He pulled a few more pieces of clothing out of the backseat and found her jeans and his shirt. "If you're gonna get like this after every time, it's going to tremendously limit our options of public affection, you know?" He pulled her feet into his lap over the gearshift and stuffed one foot and then the other into the legs of her pants. "I can't have you passing out on me in a bathroom stall-"

"I'm not doing it in a bathroom stall," she argued, finally offering some assistance in getting her pants up. She pushed her back against her door and her feet against his and worked the tight denim back up over her thighs. "That's even less space than the Camaro is."

"Says the girl who 'doesn't get down before a third date'," Damon muttered under his breath as he pulled his own shirt over his head.

"Moment of weakness," she shrugged, "My FunBon made do it."

" I knew I liked her," he smirked.

"Gotta say, I imagined that being harder," she took the shirt he was handing her and pulled it over her head.

"You what?!" he exclaimed; that's one comment he had never, ever received from a woman after sex.

"To do. In this teeny tiny car, I thought we would have more trouble, you know," she shrugged with a smile.

So much for assumptions.

\--

 **A/N:** **Well it happened! And for all of Bonnie's waiting and going slow and making it right and romantic, they got it on in the middle of a manhunt. When you know its right, its right.** **This one had more big romantic speeches and hopefully that's the last of them for a little while.** **Last chapter we caught a glimpse of Bamon in 1994, and that is an important part of their story, it just requires better telling than me dropping it in wherever I feel like. Just know I'm working it in.** **-Techliche**


	24. 24: Nobody's Damsel

**A/N: We have another diary entry from Bonnie and flashback from Damon.**

Nobody's Damsel

Damon was wooing his girlfriend. Again. It had been a couple days since the failed rescue attempt with Liv, and he was up to his ears in the witchy woo with the Parker siblings. But he was trying to woo Elena, bring Bonnie back, save Jo, get back on Rics good side, be there for a dying Sheriff Forbes. He had a lot on his plate and being the one with the hero hair was not as fun as his brother made it look.

So, so what if every now and then he took a moment to step back and breathe for himself. So what if that entailed reading Bonnies diary entries about him. So what if thats the only thing getting him through his days? Everybody has vices.

...

 _Dear Diary,_

 _The most mortifying thing ever. I can't even. I can barely write, I'm so humiliated. And angry! Ugh. Of all the people I had to be stuck here with, it had to be the nosiest busy body on the planet. Like, I can't go three hours alone before he hunts me down and ruins my peace. And usually it's fine, annoying, but whatever. But this time? This time was not fine. This time he saw things he should_ never _have seen._

…..

 **(Flashback)**

Damon turned on his side listening to the music playing down the hall in Bonnie's room. The witch couldn't sleep without some kind of noise and tonight it was oldies. A greatest hits album by Etta James from the sound of it.

But that's all he could hear. No more tossing and turning and mumbling to herself. Just Etta crooning about church bells and a man that left her.

Figuring Bonnie had finally worn herself out, Damon climbed from his cold sheets and went down the hall to turn her music off.

He slowly pushed the door open, quietly sneaked into her room, and over to the dresser where the small CD player sat. He clicked the stop button, turned to leave, checked over his shoulder at the sleeping Bonnie before-

He did an almost comical doubletake.

Damon yanked the sheets back and found not a half naked witch but pillows.

"Pillows? Really?" He grumbled out loud.

Damon wasn't sure what to think about the pillows as he headed back to his own room.

 _Am I supposed to care where she is in the middle of the night when she should be sleeping? No, I'm not her father, she doesn't have to sneak out of the house! It's not like I'm keeping her prisoner here, she is free to go whenever she wants! But why did she leave the radio on and pillows under the covers? Is she hiding something?_

At this point Damon was back in his bed, willing himself to fall asleep. However, his brain had other plans.

 _What if she didn't leave voluntarily? What if she was taken? What if she was sucked back into our time without me?! What if she's gone for good this time?_

 _Or what if she's been kidnapped?_

Damon couldn't lay there anymore, running through scenarios in his overactive imagination, anymore. He sprang from bed and sped back down the hall to Bonnie's fortress of solitude.

He sniffed the place out, searching for a scent he didn't recognize or a whiff of magic, anything.

Nothing.

He left the room and looked for her in the kitchen. The study. The living room. The basement. He tore through the house checking every room they had and still couldn't find Bonnie.

"Okay, okay," Damon stopped his frantic search and took a moment to breathe. "What would Bonnie do? She would tell you to calm down and quit acting like a little bitch." Damon shook his head and ran his hands down his face. "No. That's what I would do. Bonnie would say…. to think like Bonnie! How does that help though, she does all the thinking, that's why I keep her around!"

Damon stopped his pacing, again. He shook out his limbs and cracked his neck left and right.

"Calm down. Quit acting like a little bitch. Think like Bonnie. Where would she go?"

Damon closed his eyes and thought of Bonnie. The first thing that came to mind was her smile, her real smile not the fake patronizing one she usually reserved for him. Her bright, warm, beautiful smile, as she hugged Mrs Cuddles-

"Mrs. Cuddles!" Her dad's house!

Damon took off out the house without another thought, racing barefoot to Bonnie's childhood home.

He arrived at the dark house and stopped in the entryway. He closed his eyes and pushed his hearing out, listening for any sound whatsoever. He inhaled deeply through his nose, but there was no fresh Bonnie scent, she hadn't been there in several days.

Determined now, Damon sped from that house and arrived at Sheila's house, repeated the tracking process and again came up empty.

He hit Elena's house, Caroline's house, the Mystic Grill, the public library, the high school.

He zoomed through the entire town calling her name and looking high and low for the missing witch.

"Okay, this isn't working, Damon!" He said the words aloud, perfectly envisioning Bonnie saying it to him. "You've gotta try something else you idiot! Just calm down! And think! It's Bonnie! It's not like she would leave me, it's not like she even could, she hasn't got her magic." Unless she did. Did she get her magic back and not tell him. He knew she went off and practiced without him sometimes-

"Yes!" He looked up at the moon high in the sky. "Of course!"

Damon sped back through town to the Boarding House but instead of entering he went to the backyard. He stood still a moment, listening, tracking. He smelled the fire first and took off towards the source of the smell.

As he neared her clearing he first laughed at himself for freaking out. Then he immediately went to anger.

He sped into the clearing and stopped abruptly at the sight before him.

Bonnie was there alright. She was alive and well and by herself. But these were all secondary observations because Bonnie was first and foremost very, very naked.

The light of the flames flickered across her skin as she pranced around in front of the fire singing.

Not singing. Chanting.

Her arms were raised over her head as she called out to her ancestors, to the Gods of nature, to the spirits of the forests, to anyone listening!

Damon stood dumbfounded at the very edge of the clearing. Eyes wide, jaw dropped, he watched.

He had, of course, known Bonnie had a body under those clothes somewhere, but to see it revealed, gloriously in the light of the moon and the tall flames of the campfire. A sheen of sweat covered her head to toe, dripped down her back to her full round ass. Down her chest, between the swells of her perky breasts, her dark brown nipples hard and alert. Down to her tight stomach, where he could see her ribs with each breath she took. Past her belly button to where her thighs met in a lovely apex.

No hair whatsoever, he noted.

And he noted everything.

Good thing too, because in the next second she turned and started screaming at him get out of there!

She covered her tits and ran for cover behind the nearest tree and slid on some leaves and busted ass.

"Shit!" she groaned.

"Ooo! That looked like it hurt, are you okay?" Damon started toward her to help her up.

"Don't you dare come over here, Damon!" she yelled from the ground where she was curled in a ball clutching her wrist. "What the hell are you doing watching me, you perv!"

Being called a perv reignited Damon's initial irritation with the witch.

"You were missing Bonnie! I had no idea where you were!"

"Ugh," she growled as she crawled over to a tree stump large enough to hide behind. "That's the point of privacy, you paranoid moron. That I get to be alone for a few hours!"

"Why didn't you just say that instead of sneaking off in the middle of the night like some kid in a John Hughes movie!"

"I have!" she screamed in frustration. "I tell you all the time that I need to be alone and you don't listen! You show up and you breathe down my neck and ruin my peace and quiet, and now I think I broke my wrist! So thanks!" she hugged herself and whined.

"You probably broke more than that with the fall you took. Just let me see it." He started to approach again.

"Damon, I swear to all the gods and ancestors I can think of that if you come any closer right now, I will stake you!" she threatened, peeking over the stump.

Damon's anger faded slightly as he scooped up a shirt laying a few feet from the stump. "Oh please, witchy. If I see something I've never seen before I'll throw a dollar at it," he smirked.

"Damon!" she warned as he rounded the stump to look at her with her knees drawn to her chest and clutching her right hand.

He held the shirt out to her, determined to keep his eyes on her face and prove he hadn't been checking her out like she was the last pair of tits he would ever see.

"I believe this is yours."

Bonnie snatched the shirt from him. "Do you mind?" She waited for him to turn around.

"Not at all, Lady Godiva." He smirked.

"Just turn around!"

"Fine." He turned his back to her. "I don't know why you're so bent out of shape, Bonnie, it's not like you're even my type," he lied through his teeth. His type was young, hot, and breathing.

"Stop talking, Damon." She gritted her teeth and pushed her injured arm through the sleeves of the oversized shirt she had worn out there.

"I'm serious, you have nothing to worry about. I didn't even really see anything," he lied again, attempting to dig himself out of the world of trouble he knew he was in.

"I said stop talking!" Bonnie groaned, and slowly pushed to her knees. Her tailbone was killing her. She would be bruised for days, she could already feel it.

Damon turned around again when he heard her groaning in pain.

"I can heal that, you know," he reminded her. "That's kinda my thing. Healing damsels."

She ignored him and used the stump to push herself to her feet. She put her weight on her right leg and cried out as a sharp pain went from her hip up through her back.

"That sounds really painful," Damon commented.

"Because it is!" she growled through clenched teeth.

"Then you should probably let me help you."

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

Bonnies sudden change of topic brought Damon up short. Looking down he realized she was right, he wasn't wearing a shirt, just the dark red pajama bottoms that he had worn to bed that night. He had fled the house without even putting on a shirt and shoes.

Damn.

"Just thought I'd take a little stroll, see what you were up to." He gave her a sexy little smirk.

"Barefoot?" she winced as she looked him up and down.

"Look, are you gonna let me give you my blood or what?" he said, getting impatient with the whole ordeal.

He knew if he kept standing there trading quips with Bonnie he would really start noticing how the shirt she was wearing was one of his. A regular, plain, white undershirt that stopped mid thigh on her.

"Since when do you take barefoot, midnight strolls through the woods?" she hobbled back to the campfire her injured arm hugged to her chest. "That's _my_ thing! Strolls through nature and frolicking half naked in the woods. Can you please let me have one thing to myself?! Please!"

If he kept talking about this much longer he would start noticing just how thin that t-shirt was.

Easy to rip apart.

"Okay, Bon Bon. Hard way it is." Damon grabbed her before she could say anything else or take another painful step. He held her away from him, supporting her weight easily with his arms. His skin prickled everywhere it touched hers. He did his best not to feel it, not to feel how silky her skin was and how much he liked it.

In a snap they were back in the living room and Damon set her down on the couch.

"Damon, what the hell do you think you're doing!" Bonnie screeched and pulled her knees to her chest underneath the thin white shirt. "Jesus. What have I said about boundaries, huh?"

"Saving you from limping around with a fractured wrist for the next week is crossing your boundaries now?" Reflexively, he sank his fangs into his wrist and held it out for to taste.

She looked at his wrist with disgust, clearly dreading having to put her lips to his body.

"Relax Judgey. You're not going to become a vampire if you drink from me."

She just looked at him with this pout on her face and sighed.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry you're so friggin clumsy you went and broke your own wrist?"

"You're such an ass. Go get some ibuprofen. And some ice. Some water."

"Are you- are you seriously refusing my blood?" Damon laughed in disbelief.

"And a blanket, please."

"Oh, so now you expect me to wait on you hand and foot because you're too stubborn to take two sips of my blood?" He couldn't believe she was being like this.

"It's probably just a sprained wrist and a bruised butt. I'll be fine."

"What if it's not fine? What if you broke a bone or something!" Damon wasn't finding this amusing anymore. Her face was saying she was very serious about not taking his blood.

"Then it'll be all your fault. Can you just go find some ice, please? I might be tough, but it hurts Damon, so if you want to help me then help me. Ice, ibuprofen, blanket, and/or pants. Now." Bonnie curled up on the couch, trying desperately to keep her butt covered.

"Ice, ibuprofen, blanket. Got it," Damon stood from the couch, and looked around like these items would be sitting there in front of him.

How was he supposed to help her like this, he didn't know how to do this. Taking care of a human the old fashioned way? He couldn't even remember the last time he had to do this.

Bonnie realized he wasn't actually moving. She sighed deeply at him.

"This is the hard way for you isn't it?" If he didn't look so confused she would find it funny.

"Yes," he croaked. His lips were pressed thin as he thought hard about if he had ever seen ibuprofen in the house.

"You need me to talk you through this?" Bonnie was amused now.

Damon knew she was making fun of him now, but he could use the guidance. So he stood there waiting for more in depth instructions.

"There's a blanket over in the armchair, by the fireplace," she suggested and before she could get the whole sentence out he was covering her.

Bonnie stretched her bare legs out now that she could do so without flashing her naughty bits.

She felt a throbbing in her hip and backside.

"Ice next. Two packs," she instructed as Damon took off for the kitchen. She raised her voice a little louder so he could hear her from the living room, "You can put it in a dishcloth or a Ziploc bag or something."

Damon reappeared with two bags of ice and placed one on her hip and handed the other to her.

"Good. Now, in my bathroom upstairs there's a bottle of Advil in the medicine cabinet-" Once again she got half her instructions out before he whooshed away. Hoping he could hear her, she continued. "And see if you can find an ace bandage to wrap my wrist." Bonnie pulled the ice pack away from her arm and examined the swelling. She could still bend it, a good sign. "And look in the third drawer of my dresser and bring me another shirt and shorts, too."

Soon enough, Damon returned with his arms loaded with supplies.

"What's all this?" Bonnie eyed the pile he dumped on the coffee table in front of her.

"I found two first aid kits, two different ibuprofens- Advil and Motrin, some gauze, a thermometer, some alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide. And these cute little shorts with the ladybugs on them," Damon waved her girly boxers in her face.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and snatched her shorts from him.

"You do realize you're not actually operating on me?" she asked as she pulled the shorts on underneath the blanket. "It's a couple bruises, I don't even think I broke skin."

"No bleeding from what I can smell, few abrasions maybe." He held the bottles of medicine out to her and she took the blue one.

"Can you get me a glass-" again he whooshed from her sight, "- of water."

He returned with her water and took a seat on the coffee table.

He watched intently as she cared for herself. She took 3 pills, he briefly wondered if that were the right dosage, and swallowed half the glass of water.

She grinned at the concentration on his face, before tossing him the t-shirt he had brought down for her. It was another oversized shirt for her, obviously something she slept in.

"Cover up, Mr. Muscles," she added.

"Why, do my muscles make you uncomfortable, Bonnie?" He flexed said muscles for her as he pulled the shirt over his head.

"No, just didn't want you to get cold."

"Vampires don't get cold."

"Just gimme the bandage and the first-aid kit. Please."

He chuckled and held out the supplies to her.

"I can still move all my fingers and my wrist. It hurts like hell, but I don't think anything's really broken." Bonnie dug through the kit and pulled out a couple alcohol pads. She ripped one open with her teeth and cleaned the scrape on her palm. Then she held her sore wrist out to him. "Help me wrap it?"

He took the bandage back from her and carefully wrapped it around her wrist and palm. That wasn't too bad, I've seen that done on TV, he thought.

"Thanks," she said quietly, looking up into his blue eyes. "You'd make an excellent nurse."

"Wouldn't have to play nurse if you did things the easy way," Damon quipped.

"And let you pass up this learning opportunity? Nah. And we haven't even gotten to the fun part."

"There's more?"

"Just one more thing," Bonnie sighed and then groaned as she stretched back out on her good side. She lifted her shirt a bit, "I need you to look at it."

"It?" Damon's eyebrow hiked high.

"The bruise, Damon. How bad is it?" Bonnie pulled the side of her shorts down for him to see better.

"Um, it uh, looks good. Kinda red and dark." Damon brushed his fingertips over the damaged skin of her right buttcheek and Bonnie hissed. "You're right, it's not bleeding, but there is a pretty good scratch."

"Okay, good. My toes can wiggle, my ankle can bend and twist. Should be fine. Pass me another alcohol wipe." Damon found one, tore it open, and passed it to her. She reached for it with her bandaged hand.

"You sure you got it?" he asked.

"Yep, just gimme a second," Bonnie switched to her good hand but then couldn't reach her injured cheek.

"Here, I'll do it," Damon took the wipe from her with little resistance from Bonnie. He wiped over the bruise a little roughly and she hissed and grabbed the blanket. "Sorry, sorry."

He lightened his touch significantly so the wipe was barely a whisper over her skin. He tried to only see the bruised area of skin, to focus on the task and not on how warm she felt under his fingertips. On how he could run his hands down these legs all day and never grow tired of them. On how nice her ass would look bent over the arm of this couch with him sliding in behind her...

Nope!

"All done!" he croaked out through his dry mouth.

She adjusted her clothes and pulled the blanket back up. "Now, was that so hard?"

"Yes. Excruciating. I don't know how you managed." Damon griped.

"Not everything requires a supernatural fix. I can actually heal on my own, and I'm nobody's damsel." Bonnie was burrowing down in the blanket, ready for sleep.

"Are you sure you should sleep, what if you're concussed?" Damon tucked the blanket around her shoulders and set the ice packs back in place.

"You're the only headache I've got tonight, I think I'll be alright."

"You don't always have to be brave, you know," Damon said as Bonnie closed her eyes. "I could have helped you."

"You did help me, Damon."

"You know what I mean."

"Look, the next time I am dangerously close to bleeding out, please feel free to feed me your blood, save my life. With my luck, it'll happen sooner or later. Til then, I know how to take care of a bruised butt. And now, so do you."

"And what am I supposed to do now, Dr. Know It All?"

Bonnie cracked open one eye to peek at him. "Monitor the patient for any changes and in four to six hours administer another dose of meds."

"You actually want me to watch you all night?"

"Just go to bed, Damon."

"I mean, I can, I just didn't know if you were serious," he was met with only silence. "Bonnie?"

"What?"

"You sleep?"

"Gettin' there."

"Tell me something."

"What?"

"What were you doing out there? Why didn't you just tell me about it?"

She sighed, she had hoped he would let that go.

"Because. It's embarrassing. And crazy. What, I was just supposed to tell you I wanted to go traipsing naked through the woods, trying to contact my ancestors and spirits that obviously have no interest in hearing me out? That sounds insane. You would have laughed at me."

"No-" Damon started to argue, but was silenced by the look she gave him. "Okay, I definitely would have made fun of you."

"Exactly." Bonnie covered her face with her good hand. "And you would've been all, 'Ooh can I watch'. Didn't even work anyway. Totally humiliating, I can't believe you caught me."

She suddenly sat up on her good elbow, wincing.

"How _did_ you catch me?"

"You're not actually that sneaky. I followed the smell of the fire."

"How'd you know I was gone?"

"I couldn't hear the scaredy cat shrieking in her sleep," Damon left her side to go pour himself a drink.

Bonnie's eyes followed him suspiciously.

"You were checking on me," she said in wonder.

"I was not. No."

"You were. Do you check on me often?"

"I don't check on you ever," he denied the gesture.

Damon pushed Bonnie's feet aside to make room for himself at the other end of the couch.

"You _care_ about me."

"I'm annoyed by you."

"You looove me," she sang smugly, shifting lower in the couch.

Damon sipped from his drink.

"Go to sleep, Bonnie."

…. ….

(Bonnie's Diary)

 _He says he didn't see anything, but I was butt ass naked and he's got super sight, so I know he probably saw everything. It was so embarrassing, I can't believe I fell like that._

 _And then he was all 'Drink my blood Bonnie I can heal you'. Um, no thank you. Last time he healed my friends they both turned into vampires, so I think I'll take my chances on the slow human healing process. Not that I'm against using his blood to heal, but why risk it, it's just a sprain. But you'd never know by the way Nurse Damon reacted, you'd think I was bleeding to death and broke both my legs. I have to admit. He can be pretty sweet and gentle when he's not thinking solely about himself._

 _Not that I can EVER tell him that._

 _Upside to the whole debacle: Damon's being nice and waiting on me, fetching things, taking my temperature (Don't ask)._

 _And he thinks Stefan's the only with the hero complex!_

 _XO,_

 _B_ _onnie_


	25. The After After Glow

**A/N: Disclaiming the characters.**

 **(NSFW. Words: 4,300)**

The After After Glow

"What is up with you guys?" Caroline pried.

"Nothing!" Both Damon and Bonnie said together with a shared glance.

"You guys look like crap."

"Well, Caroline. Next time, you and Stefan can be on Team Demon Chasing and we'll take babysitting the classroom duty, kay."

"Okay, Bonnie's being snarky, and Damon isn't. Now I know something's wrong," Stefan quipped.

"That's not snark. She's one hundred percent serious. Next time a Big Bad comes down on us all, it's your turn to run in and get your asses handed to you by a prehistoric she devil that spits acid, Stefan. Actual acid."

" _Acid_ ," Bonnie reiterated, a point that couldn't be stressed enough.

"Flesh. Eating. A _cid._ "

"Ew."

"Yeah, ew, Care. And did we mention the claws? Because there were claws," Bonnie curled her fingers to demonstrate.

"So many claws."

"Okay, this thing has acid spit and many many claws. Care to share how you took her down? " Alaric suggested from the corner where he was studying the demon that Damon had dragged in from the trunk.

"If we'd been a minute later the campus would have one less rapey jock to not discipline."

"It was that close? I thought you guys were tailing him?" Stefan's eyes flashed between Bonnie and his brother as Damon coughed back a laugh and Bonnie backhanded him in the stomach.

She had threatened to permanently silence him if he told anybody how they nearly lost the Demon Bait because Bonnie couldn't wait a few hours to be off duty. She was just glad they made it in time, and that the only permanent damage was done to Damon's clothes, and that patch of his hair would grow back soon.

"We were tailing him the whole night and then we took our eyes of him for like one second-"

"Definitely longer than a second-"

"- when the rapey idiot went and let the damn thing into his apartment!" Bonnie finished, speaking right over Damon like he hadn't said anything at all.

"In his defense, she looked totally hot right up until her face pulled back and revealed three rows of teeth."

"She was alright," Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, she didn't much like being shot with tranq darts."

"Not that they had any effect whatsoever," Damon said.

"But it did distract her long enough for me to um- to uh- get in place and hit her with a couple spells. Actually, it felt like a couple dozen spells, in some weird combinations. I did stuff I didn't even know I could do," Bonnie babbled.

"Damn right you did," Damon muttered loud and clear.

Before Bonnie could catch herself she grinned, "Shut up, Damon."

Caroline caught that smug little grin on her best friend's face; she knew what that look meant and now Bonnie was avoiding eye contact. And Damon, well, innuendo was his default tone of voice so that wasn't surprising, but he was looking extra pleased with himself tonight considering half his jacket was melted and ripped and he kept staring at Bonnie's chest -

"Oh my god you slept with Damon in the middle of a demon hunt?!" she blurted, stopping Alaric mid-sentence as he was asking about the spells Bonnie had cooked up.

"No!" Bonnie tried to deny it, but couldn't lose the grin from her face no matter how hard she was trying to be discreet.

It wasn't working. And Damon wasn't helping.

"Come on Carebear, Bonnie Bennett would never do anything like that," Damon grinned right back at her. "Would she?"

"You totally did it!" Caroline exclaimed with glee, looking at Stefan whose face was struggling to stay impassive and failing.

"Can we please just get this over with, I did have plans for the evening," Alaric swiftly shut down the topic. He didn't actually have plans but he had already heard as much as he wanted about Bonnie and Damon's sex life.

"Absolutely, do we have everything we need?" Bonnie gratefully jumped back into business mode.

They moved the unconscious Amalchba into place inside of the pentagram, Bonnie lit several candles with a flick of her hand, and soon she began chanting.

As Bonnie chanted, the symbols drawn on the floor in salt started glowing and the air became charged with static electricity.

The chanting picked up intensity and soon the "Goddess of Love" was gone, disappeared.

"That's it? No portal to hell?" Damon asked.

"Were you interested in visiting hell tonight, because that can be arranged," Bonnie threatened sweetly.

"No, no, I'm good. Just checking. So, that's it? It's all over?" Damon asked, incredulous.

"Yes Damon, it's over," Bonnie was ready to go, wanting to skip past the talk with Caroline for another time. "Can you grab the candles, Stefan do something with all the salt on the floor."

"Bossy's back," Damon teased.

"I heard that!" Bonnie narrowed her eyes at him.

"What? I like Bossy!"

Together they removed any evidence of their presence from the room and left the building.

"So, what's next, Miss Bennett?" Damon asked as he took her hand in his, pulling Bonnie into his side.

"I don't know, I kinda feel like I'm forgetting something, but… it'll come to me." Bonnie wrapped her arm around Damon. "Anyway, someone should probably go do the Magic Edition of Scared Straight with those girls. I'm pretty sure they get the point about not summoning evil demons to do your bidding, but I really wanna drive it home, you know. Ooh, we could play good cop, bad cop!" Bonnie had obviously caught a second wind; the adrenaline from casting a successful spell made her chatty.

"Okay, but that can wait for morning, Bonnie," Caroline agreed. "Besides, I'm sure there are other things you and Damon can get up to."

"You are absolutely right, Care! I've still got finals to get through and study for, and Damon can help me with _that._ Right Damon?"

"I'm pretty sure that is not what Caroline was referring to-"

Bonnie elbowed him in the ribs-

"- but it's whatever you want, I'm along for the ride." He recovered quickly.

"Goodnight guys," Alaric sighed. "Bonnie, let me know when you go talk to Jordan and the girls, I do want to be there for it."

"Sure thing, night Ric," Bonnie watched him walk off toward his car.

"I guess we're off, too," Caroline said, winking at her roommate. "That is unless you and Damon want to use the Boarding House tonight, you know, to _study."_

Bonnie shook her head and turned on her heel, pulling Damon with her. "We'll talk later Care."

"Oh, you bet we're gonna talk, young lady!" Caroline called.

"Be careful guys, don't study too hard, you might hurt something!" Stefan added.

"I hate you both!" Bonnie shouted back with a grin even they could see as she hurried Damon away.

"Can you believe them? They're worse than you are!"

Damon just smirked at her.

"What? What's that look for?"

"Nothing."

"Not nothing," Bonnie shook his arm. "Spit it out."

"They're only teasing you because you're so damn cute when you're flustered. It's kinda adorable." Damon stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and pulled Bonnie in close.

"That's just because you adore me," she shrugged.

"You're probably right," he bent his neck as she stretched up on her toes and leaned into him. The kiss was light and sure, just enough to make Bonnie sigh across his mouth.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go back to the boarding house?" he whispered in her ear, nuzzling her neck.

"Mm I do want to," Bonnie started but trailed off as Damon's fingers slid up the back of her shirt.

"But?" his other hand left her waist to cup her face, gently tipping her chin up to look at him.

Bonnie grabbed him by the lapels of his leather jacket and pulled him down for another kiss, this time less sweet. She steered this kiss and Damon let her lead, matching each thrust of her tongue against his. He cupped her neck holding her steady while he explored the taste and texture of her mouth. Her hands roamed south and slid under his jacket, under his shirt to his lower back. Bonnie felt him shiver and he gasped giving her a moment to breathe, but only a moment. He went right back to devouring her, their tongues tangling together as the world seemed to drop away, leaving them alone.

When Damon's hand pushed down the back of her pants and squeezed her ass, Bonnie gasped loudly, and quickly came back to her senses.

"Damon," Bonnie pulled back to look at him.

"Hey, you started it," he kissed her again.

"Yeah well, you smell like acid spit."

"So do you."

"You have to take your hand out my pants, we're in public."

"There's nobody around, it's the middle of the night."

Bonnie pulled his hand out and skipped out of his reach, smiling at the pout on his face.

"Come on, we can go _study_ at my place," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"I don't wanna study at your place."

"Why not?" he whined.

"Um, did you get new studying furniture?"

"What furniture?" his voice squeaked up a notch and Bonnie gave him a look .

"Fur-ni-ture."

It took him another beat to get her meaning.

"Are you serious? My bed? You really want me to get rid of my bed?!"

"Why do you sound shocked? And no, you don't _have_ to get rid of it, just don't expect to get any… _studying_ done in it," Bonnie smirked.

"Why, you wicked little witch," Damon was impressed. She knew exactly how to play to his weaknesses.

"Besides, by my count somebody still owes me three dates," she turned and strut away from him. She knew she had him on the hook.

"You want me to get rid of _my_ bed _and_ take you on three more dates?" Damon clarified.

"What, you thought I was gonna make it easy for you? That I was just gonna forgive and forget that you took another girl home last night?"

Damon's jaw snapped shut audibly and Bonnie looked back at him. "Oh, you thought Caroline wouldn't tell me?"

Damon didn't know how to answer that. Dammit, two seconds ago they were all over each other and now they were back to fighting? He couldn't keep up.

"I can explain."

"I'm sure you can," she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know what, Bonnie-"

She stepped up close to him, chest out, hands on hips, and stared him down.

"What?"

"You- I. We were just- and now-" he blustered. There was no winning here and Damon knew it. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Now I'm buying a new bed."

"Aww, see that wasn't so hard, was it!" Bonnie beamed at him.

"What is happening right now?" Damon's head was spinning, she was giving him whiplash.

"What's happening is, you just agreed to replace your old- haunted by the ghosts of girlfriends past- bed. The frame, mattress, sheets and all." Bonnie shrugged, like no big deal.

"You… Faker! When did you get so manipulative? And why do I find it hot?"

"You say manipulative, I say persuasive," she held her hand out for his. "You coming or what?"

"Can't believe you just conned me," Damon took her hand and let her lead him back to her dorm.

"Can't believe you fell for it," she replied.

They walked quietly together through the dark campus.

"When did she tell you?" Damon asked.

"She text me this morning."

"You've known all day? You knew and you still…"

"Jumped your bones? Yeah, I've wanted to do that for a while now."

"And you're not mad?"

"I'm… I was. And then I remembered that I trust you. Did you do anything with her that I should know about?"

"I renamed her Stacey. Compelled her to tell me what a great guy I am." Damon thought back over the previous night. It felt like ages ago now. "She may have sat in my lap. But Blondie took her home before…"

"Before?"

"Honestly? Before I could drain her dry and leave her for dead in the middle of the living room."

Bonnie didn't answer for a beat, and then, "That's a little disturbing, Damon."

"Yeah, but it's the truth."

Bonnie wasn't interested in changing Damon's personality. She didn't believe she could even if she wanted to. But she did have some standards and he knew it, but now that they were together she had to say it aloud.

"Look, I know you're flawed and a vampire and you feed from people, but… I'm still Judgey Ole Bonnie. And I hate it when you kill people. Humans. For no reason. I don't think I can change that. No matter how much I love you."

"I know that," Damon squeezed her hand.

"And, with the exception of your bed, I'm not telling you what to do, but…" she didn't know how to say it without it sounding like an ultimatum.

"I'll do better. And I've been on my best behavior lately. Turns out you're a pretty good influence on me."

"You're not mad about it?" Bonnie was surprised.

"My girl doesn't want to date an active serial killer, I think I can bend on that one. But understand that doesn't apply when it comes to your safety. I will kill anyone that comes for you, for us. Supernatural or not," his tone matched the lethal glare in his eyes. She couldn't persuade him on this, she knew better than to try, but she couldn't stop herself.

"But it doesn't always have to be kill first, questions last, Damon. Look at tonight, we didn't kill the demon, we captured it and banished it back to where it came from."

"It wasn't hunting us, though. Look, Bonnie, I will agree to not kill for food and sport, but I can't promise not to take out an enemy. "

"You do realize I can defend myself, right? I don't need you to take out my enemies!"

"I don't give a shit how good a witch you are Bonnie! Whether you like it or not, I'm done letting you pull all that dangerous shit on your own. Not anymore!"

"Letting me?! You are not my father Damon!"

"Why are you fighting me on this? All I want to do is keep you safe and alive!"

"Because you act like it's so easy! Like I'm not doing the same for you, Mr. Dives Headfirst into Danger. I don't want you standing between me and danger. I'm a Bennett Witch, Damon!"

"That doesn't make you invincible!"

"No, it makes me a target! And last I checked you're not invincible either!"

Damon growled and bit down on his tongue. They could and would stand there arguing all night like this if he didn't put a stop to it. He took three longs strides away from her and back again, over and over.

"Look. I'm sorry! Okay!" Bonnie sighed, calling a truce. "I don't wanna fight anymore, I don't. I'm tired of fighting with you."

Damon trapped her face between his palms. His eyes were fire and chaos and cold and gentle and everything in between because if he opened his mouth again he'd say all kinds of shit that would have them right back to arguing. He held onto her until his frantic emotions faded a bit.

"I don't wanna fight with you either," Damon spoke at last. "But neither of us is gonna win this one. So, call it a draw?"

Bonnie nodded as best she could and buried her face in Damon's chest. God, he was exhausting. Five years ago, Bonnie never would have thought pissing off a vampire would be anything but terrifying. Now, she was only tired of arguing with him. She wasn't even really mad; you can't be too mad at a guy that would literally kill to keep you safe.

"I'm sorry I turned a fake argument into a real one," Bonnie apologized.

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and led her up the steps of her dormitory.

"Don't worry about it, I have that effect on people."

"Look at us, ending an argument without me running away or kicking you out. That's progress," she said quietly.

"Very mature of us," Damon agreed.

"I can't even remember what we were talking about before."

"My Slutty Snacking habit."

"Right."

Bonnie looked up into his eyes. She felt that familiar warmth in her gut that came anytime she was near him. She loved him. He did stupid shit and he was going to constantly piss her off but she loved him. She wanted him. She wanted stupid arguments with him more than she had wanted anything from anyone else.

"So, will you stop bringing Slutty Snacks home with you?"

"I will. Do I still have to get rid of my bed?"

"Definitely."

"Then I guess that's that." His words said he was letting it go, but his face was still stuck on bitter old Damon.

"Just like that?" Bonnie wanted to believe they could just go back to how they were earlier. Before the after glow faded.

"Yep. It's called compromise." Damon opened Bonnies door for her then closed and locked it behind him.

"How's it a compromise if you don't get anything out of it?"

"Who said I don't get anything out of it?" He caught her arm before she could turn to drop her bag on the floor.

He lowered it from her shoulder slowly and set it on the desk before leaning in to softly kiss her lips. Bonnie tipped her head back and immediately melted to his touch as he carefully pushed her jacket down her arms.

Her mind flashed back to this same situation a few hours ago in the Camaro. She blushed as she helped him with his own destroyed jacket.

"What do you think I get out of ending a fight that neither of us wants to be in?" he asked with his mouth latched on hers. He pulled her top over her head and grinned like a fox at her exposed chest, nipples hardening by the second. He kissed her neck slowly, up one side then down the other

"Tell me." Bonnies hands found the hem of his shirt and tugged it up over his head and let her hands run down his rock hard pectoral muscles and abdomen.

Damon's eyes flitted over every inch of her, drinking her in like a man dying of thirst.

"Hunny, I get to kiss and make up."

He cupped her delicious ass and carefully lifted her so she could wrap her legs tightly around his waist. She delighted in the friction against her already swollen clit and the tickle of her nipples against his chest. Bonnie ran a hand through his messy hair, and kissed him till she couldn't breathe.

"Shower?" she gasped.

"Yes ma'am."

Damon had them in the bathroom and the shower on and warming up before she could say another word.

He stripped her jeans down, she kicked off her shoes. His mouth claimed her breast, her fingers fumbled with his jeans. She whispered a quick spell and the button popped off.

"Whoa, no magic down there!" Damon's head jerked up slightly alarmed but mostly aroused.

"You sure about that?" Bonnie worked his jeans and briefs down his hips and his hardened member spilled out. She slowly sank to her knees with a devilish smirk. "'Cause I bet I can change your mind."

Her tongue slipped across his belly button before following his happy trail to his cock. She was pleased to find precum already seeping from the tip. She licked circles around the slit before taking him into her mouth.

"Fuuck," Damon hissed, and reached to grab the sink.

She was indeed working magic on him, like she was hypnotizing his dick with her tongue. She sucked him up and down till he damn near couldn't feel his legs, he so close to cumming.

He abruptly yanked her to her feet and stuffed her in the steamy shower.

"I wasn't finished," Bonnie complained while Damon found the soap that smelled most like Bonnie- lavender- and began to lather her caramel skin.

"My turn," he pressed her against the shower wall and knelt down, massaging soap into her thighs.

"Open up," he commanded and she spread her knees for him.

"Wider," he instructed, lifting her leg and setting it on the lip of tub. He handed Bonnie the soap and she scrubbed his back while he kissed her from one thigh to the next. When he finally stopped teasing her and slid his tongue over her sensitive nub she squeezed the bar of soap right out of her hand.

"Shit, sorry," she moaned. Her now empty hands pushed through Damon's wet hair.

"No more sorries. I take it you like that?" Damon stroked his tongue over her clit again and she arched her hips into him.

"Unh hm," she whimpered.

"I wanna hear you say it."

"God, yes, I like that!"

The tip of his tongue flicked over her again and again and just when she thought she couldn't take anymore he pushed her legs open even wider and drove his tongue straight into her dripping slit, making her scream. He worked his own magic on her, adding first one finger, then another pumping in and out as Bonnies whimpering got louder and louder.

"Tell me how you like it Bonnie," he demanded.

"Just like that, don't stop. Don't stop!" Her hips ground into his mouth and his tempo picked up, he was humming inside of her, strumming her like an instrument until she was screaming out "Yes, yes, right there that's it don't stop don't stop, please!" She was begging Damon, she was begging god, she was begging herself, she so close and then-

Boom!

It was like being struck by lightning! She saw lights everywhere. She heard thunder rolling!

Before she could slide down the wall in a puddle of goo Damon surged to his feet, lifted Bonnies already spread legs slid his dick home in one thrust.

"Ohh!" she gasped. He stroked her, in and out. His strong arms never wavered under her knees, just pumped her up and down as he pistoned into her gushy folds.

"Shit, you're so tight, Bon," he was coming undone. Bonnies back arched off the wall, her hips working in tandem with his. He wrapped one muscled arm tight around her ribs and braced the other on the tiled wall over her head.

He growled and his fangs descended. "Dammit Bonnie," he cursed like it was her fault. He focused on her panting and moaning to keep from sinking his teeth into her flesh. He watched her dark womb swallow his flushed rock hard member, choking it, she was squeezing him so good.

"Look at me, Damon," she gasped roughly. His red, veined eyes found hers, bright green and focused entirely on him. "Do it, bite me."

Damon put his mouth to hers, silencing her before she made him do something stupid.

She broke the kiss frantically, nails digging into his back, she twist her head to the side, giving him her neck, "Now, Damon, bite me, NOW!"

His fangs sank into her flesh and her blood flowed into his mouth like the sweetest wine he had ever tasted. He drank from her deeply and her pussy tightened around him, everything tightened and she screamed out in Latin "Phesmatos sanguinem cumamasio!"

Damon came hard with a cry louder than hers: he saw lights, stars, fireworks. His soul shifted in his chest and if he wasn't dead already he would've thought he was having a heart attack and a stroke at the same time.

He poured himself into her, riding wave after wave of pleasure until his legs threatened to give out.

He slid his back down the tile until his butt hit the top of the tub. Bonnie unwrapped her legs and tried to let him go, he only held her tighter as he sat down. He buried his face in her neck, licking away every drop of blood that remained and his dick jumped again at the taste. He bit his tongue drawing blood and swept it over the gaping bite marks he'd left in her skin, healing it slowly.

That sat like that, under the shower spray, holding each other, rocking each other.

Damon reached behind Bonnie blindly and pushed the stopper down on the drain.

He was speechless. He said nothing as the warm water rose around them.

Bonnie rubbed circles and pat his back while she slowly came down from her climax.

"Bon."

She managed a sleepy, smiley grunt in response.

"I think you might've killed me."

"D' I hurt you?" she asked vaguely.

"Yes." He moaned.

"Good hurt or bad hurt?"

"Good. So, soo good."

"Told you so."

 **A/N**

 **So! It got a little steamy at the end there. I wanted to stop before the sex but I figured, why not, you know they want it (Bamon, not you the readers). And yes of course they had another argument. Of course they did, Damon brought another girl to his house! You think Bonnie would let that slide? Do you think Bonnie should have been harder on him and not forgiven him so easily? Do you think they are rubbing off on each other ( I swear I'm not being punny) in good ways or bad ways?**

 **And do you really think that's the end of Amalchba?**

 **Drop a review please!**

 **Techliche**


	26. Chapter 26: Paranoia

Paranoia

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Damon's the most paranoid freak I've ever seen and it's hilarious. I'll be doing something quietly or actually leave his presence once in awhile, and he gets literally spooked! I'm pretty sure he's been tracking my scent, too- he shows up wherever I am. Granted we do spend basically all our time together anyway while we're searching for a way to get my magic back. But, I could be on the other side of the woods by this gorgeous little pond, remind me to get a picture for you. Nope scratch that, because you, Diary, are an inanimate object that I've begun conversing with, so never mind! Sorry, I'm just kinda crazy these days._

 _But anywho, I could be out in the middle of the forest meditating and the next thing I know he's breathing down my neck, freaking out because I left him alone in the big scary creaky house. Like come on- a vampire that's scared of a haunted house?_

 _Actually, that sounds right up his alley. Reminds me of the old Witches House back home. He hated having to be there knowing the witch spirits hated him! I loved watching him squirm._

 _Sigh. Too bad there's no magic left in this place._

…..

"Well, Velma, what's the verdict? Is this place haunted or what?" Damon leaned against the doorway of the dusty and dank basement.

"Well, Scooby, since you've made it this far without being forcibly ejected from the building, I think that's a pretty solid no." Bonnie climbed to her feet and dusted her clothes off, taking another dejected look around the empty basement.

"No! Come on! A hundred fucking witches died here and you're telling me there's zero magical residue left? This place was literally crawling with magic in our world!" Damon looked around for something to kick or hit and finding nothing he drove his fist into the nearest wall. "YOU said this would work!"

"Uh no, I said it was worth a shot," Bonnie was just as disappointed as he was, she'd really hoped that her ancestors hated Damon enough to want to punish him even in his afterlife, but alas.

"And even if the magic were here, why would the spirits help you, you're ruining their house!" Bonnie grabbed Damon's arm before he could continue taking his frustration out on the house.

"Why's it matter Bonnie? It's not like they can help us, there's nothing here!" He raised his fist again and this time Bonnie put herself between the agitated vampire and the place where her ancestors were murdered.

"Because! It's still a sacred place to me, Damon."

He breathed out a huff of disbelief.

"Sacred? This is the same place where your freaky spirit witches stripped you of your magic!" He reminded her.

"I know that. Look, you may not understand it, but you will respect it." Bonnie drew herself up to her full height, even if it only came to his shoulders, and stepped into his personal space, her chest brushing against his tight abdominal.

Damon took a reflexive step backwards away from her.

"Go. Wait outside. Beat down a tree, I don't care, but do not take it out on this house." Her tone meant business, but her eyes were lethal.

Damon was ready to argue with her but decided better and left, stomping and cursing the whole way out.

Bonnie sighed heavily. She hated when he got like that. She was going to have to spend all evening with the moody vamp and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Bonnie struck a match and lit a new candle. She continued her hopeless chants and prayers for guidance.

Meanwhile, outside Damon paced in circles around the property surrounding the old Witches manor. He was furious. He was disappointed. And to be disappointed, that meant he had had hope. Again. He was becoming tired of having his hopes dashed. This was the fifth lead they had chased down in search of a way to restore Bonnie's magic.

 _Hope is for suckers_ , he thought to himself. "Hope is for suckers!" He then yelled out loud since no one was there to hear his scream. He ranted and raved to the empty woods for a few minutes before he abruptly went quiet.

"What was that? Who's there?" Damon listened for twice as long as he'd stood there screaming, but nothing and no one showed itself. "Right. No one's there, because no one's here but me and 5 feet 3 inches of miserable useless witch-anchor."

Damon picked up his pacing and headed in one direction, stalking off further into the woods.

Damon's mind was running back what happened in the basement of the witch house.

He knew Bonnie was probably gonna be pissed whenever they made it back to the boarding house. She always was after a let down.

Damon thought about the way she had stopped him from tearing that house apart brick by brick, and he would have- He would have demolished that place without a second thought, just to spite those damn Spirits.

She had stepped between him and that wall that was about to become dust and just told him to back off and he had done it. With no threats or promises of bodily harm. From either party!

She just told him no.

But she did that thing where she would step into his space and force him to really look at her and acknowledge her.

And it always caught Damon off guard. Every time.

Every time he saw the fire in those sharp, bright, verdant eyes he thought for sure this would be the time her mind sets him ablaze. Everytime she marched up to him and poked her finger in his chest to make a point, he found it equally annoying and sexy. He couldn't decide whether he liked it or hated it so he continued to provoke her so she'd do it again. For the sake of the experiment.

And every time, his stomach tightened embarrassingly when the swells of her breasts brushed across his stomach as she pushed her chest out and stared him down.

And he'd cave. Half the time she would get her way and he would do whatever she wanted.

It was even more infuriating knowing that she had picked up that particular move from him!

He had mastered the art of making people uncomfortable with his close proximity and Intimidating Glare. It was practically trademarked and Damon did not appreciate the irony of having his own tricks used against him.

That she kept managing to use it so successfully on him only compounded his rage.

He really didn't want to examine the fact that Bonnie affected him in ways he couldn't ignore, not while they were alone together like this.

Damon was constantly conflicted about Bonnie these days. Most of the time he was worried she would wind up dead before they found a way out (wouldn't it be so typical, the girl dies of a cough after she's already died. Twice.) leaving him by himself in the deserted world they've called hell for four weeks now. He couldn't handle that.

Other times he was watching her, making sure she didn't just end it on her own terms. Things, life, got dark really quick here and so far they had managed to pull each other back from the darkness, but what if that one time he couldn't and she took her own life. And left him alone there? No way could he handle that.

And then there were times where he found himself...considering Bonnie in other ways.

He was a man after all. And he had started noticing a lot of things about Bonnie, like the fact that she took like three showers a day. The girl always smelled good. She had stopped wearing real bras about two weeks in and damn if he didn't support the decision.

Bonnie was gorgeous, all curves and fight. And fighting was what they did best together.

Damon took great pleasure in winning an argument and watching her stamp off in huff. But lately, Bonnie had been the victor of her fair share of arguments and challenges. Just like at the unhaunted house, she'd show her own set of 'fang's' and Damon backed off and let her have her way. How else would she get him to watch the Bodyguard with her?

Except her 'fangs' were about a foot south of her lips and were just as soft as they were dangerous.

Watching Bonnie puff out her chest and try to make herself tall and intimidating was...hilarious... Sexy as hell... No, distracting as hell!

He couldn't afford to see her as sexy, they had to stay on mission. Mission Impossible: Escape from Hell (he really had to stop letting her pick the movies.)

Damon soon grew bored of stomping through the woods and was headed back to the Witch House when he heard it.

Bonnie screamed out.

It was ear piercing, heart piercing, it stole the air from his chest.

This is it, he thought as he raced back to where he'd left her.

Bonnie's continued screams and yells came from the basement of the Witch House. "Damon! Help!"

"Bonnie?!"

"Damon HURRRRYYYYY!"

The vampire burst into the darkened room fangs first, ready to rip apart her attacker, only to find her standing alone in the room.

"Is it the spirits? What'd they do? Where are they?"

"Damon it's over there, kill it!" She was pointing towards the door he just entered through.

Damon strained his senses trying to see, smell, or hear who she was talking about. "Bonnie I don't see anything! What is it?!"

"I swear I saw it go behind the door!"

He pulled the door barely hanging on its hinges back to see a dark black pile in the corner.

He looked back and forth from the floor to Bonnie, finally understanding she was scared. Not dying.

"Are you fucking kidding me? It's a trash bag!"

He picked it up and tossed it at her, watching her jump back in surprise before relief and embarrassment washed over her. "That's why you're in here screaming like a banshee?! I thought you were _dying_!"

"I thought it was a snake!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack, I thought someone was murdering you!" he snarled.

"Well, so sorry to disappoint-" she moved for the door but Damon stopped her.

"Disappoint? Do you really think I'd be disappointed if you had died in here?" He gave her his trademark crazy eyes for a moment, but Bonnie just stared right back at him, her face set, daring him to deny it.

The silent staredown didn't last long before Bonnie broke eye contact with a shake of her head. She sidestepped the vampire again and was crossing the doorway when his voice stopped her.

"Well, you're wrong." He turned to face her. For once he was very serious, not even a hint of teasing in his voice. "You are very wrong."

Bonnie turned, looking him in the eye to see if he was being as honest as he sounded. She must have believed him.

"Okay," she whispered. She cleared her throat and spoke up, "That's...Good to know."

She stood waiting for him to elaborate, but Damon didn't think there was much left to be said about it.

"You are ridiculous, though. You'll face down a maniacal original hybrid but let a snake get near you…" And just like that Damon went back to teasing.

"You are not funny. What if it had been a snake?" Bonnie climbed the stairs leaving the empty basement behind her with Damon on her heels.

"Snakes you're afraid of? See now _that_ is good to know! I guess I probably shouldn't tell you about the one at the top of the stairs."

Bonnie jumped backwards against Damon and would have sent them both tumbling down the rickety steps if Damon hadn't caught her, his hands on her waist.

"Where?" Bonnie's eyes searched the landing rapidly, before she both felt and heard Damon laughing at her.

She elbowed him in the gut, probably bruising herself more than him, and shrugged his hands off her, stomping up the last few steps.

"That wasn't funny," she muttered.

"It was a little funny," Damon laughed as they left the dim building, returning to the bright outdoors.

…

 _Damon said I nearly gave him a heart attack the way I was screaming when I saw that snake, or trash bag, whatever. He said he thought someone was trying to kill me. Paranoid right!_

 _Anyway, besides snakes, what's there to be afraid of, there's no one here! I can do all the shit I can't do back home like: being outside alone at night. Running down the middle of the road. Driving fast, and just as soon as I get Damon to show me how to drive a stick shift it is so on! I mean we are stuck here for an indeterminate amount of time. I may as well have some fun while I'm here right? Because there was almost zero fun the last time I was sort of alive. I'm gonna start living my afterlife. I kinda think I deserve it._

...

 _She absolutely deserved it,_ Damon thought to himself, snapping the journal shut. No one deserved to sit back and enjoy their life more than Bonnie did. But what did she do? She went and sacrificed her life for his and wound up alone in a Prison World meant for a sociopath. And it turns out he hadn't been paranoid enough to keep her from getting hurt.

He was doing everything he could to get her out and it seemed like people were stopping him every chance they got. People that were supposed to be her friends. Elena wasn't even the same person now and he found himself more annoyed that she kept popping up than he was happy to be with her. Caroline was dealing with Liz, Stefan was dealing with Caroline. Ric had Jo and Jo was busy figuring out how to beat Kai. Liv and Luke were useless, they were too busy running scared from their big bad brother.

You know who wouldn't run scared from that asshole? Bonnie. She was fearless. Well, almost. As long as it wasn't a creepy crawly, she had no qualms about getting up in its face. Vampires, werewolves, hybrids, ancient witches, it didn't matter.

 _Doesn't_ matter. Not past tense. Because she's not dead. He could bring her back. He had to. He had to make sure she got everything she deserved out of life. He needed to make it right. _For her._

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So, some of these are out of chronological order, lets just say Damon skips around reading his favorite parts when he needs a little Bonspiration.**


	27. Chapter 27: Time Management

**a/n: I love you guys the readers, and I love these two together, Damon and Bonnie. They are my favorite people, and they are still working out their stuff, stuff they don't even realize they have to work on.**

Time Management

Bonnie let Damon consume her life for two whole days before she had to get back to the real world.

They spent all weekend tucked away at the boarding house, breaking in the padded headboard on his new king sized bed. They cut themselves off from the rest of world for 48 hours, losing themselves in each other, existing only in their lovely little bubble.

But Monday morning came too early for either of them and when Damon tried to coerce her back into his sheets with his pouty lips and those lust filled eyes and hands that had learned every inch of her body- she was hard pressed to find a reason not to stay.

But finals were around the corner and she had a thesis to finish, exams to study for, projects to complete.

She had put it all off for as long as she could and now she had to get back to work.

"So, we can pick this up later, right?" Damon wouldn't let a single inch of space between his chest and her back as she shuffled closer and closer to the door. His lips kissed whatever skin he could find left bare, her neck, her wrists, her hands, her face.

"Yes, you gorgeous goofball, I will be back. We talked about this. Mama's gotta go earn her degree now. The next few weeks are crucial, Damon, you know that," she moaned as he sucked on her neck.

He just hummed his agreement and continued to feel her up.

"Then why are you making it so hard for me to leave?" she asked, trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Me? You're the one making me hard," he whispered in her ear and pulled her ass back into his crotch with a sigh.

"You're always hard, you're utterly insatiable," she giggled. If she didn't come up with something quick she'd never get out of there. "Ok, how bout this- you can meet me at two for a little afternoon delight. How's that sound?"

Damon spun her around in his arms and countered with, "Make it noon and you've got a deal."

"Noon _and_ you bring me lunch?"

"Hm, you drive a hard bargain. Deal," They sealed it with one last kiss before Damon finally released her and she left the house running to her car. "Drive careful, no speeding!" he warned.

"Sure thing, Da-Mom!" she yelled out the window as she hit the gas and took off down the wooded drive.

Damon grinned, thinking back on the first time he attempted to teach her to drive a stick shift. Unlike the 1994 prison world though, here there were other drivers to worry about.

He shook his head and sent up a silent prayer for both her and his sanity.

…...

6 classes.

15 credits.

2 in History, 1 Language, 1 independent study, 1 PE, and a freshman humanities seminar that she has been putting off for years.

2 papers due in Mythology 310; 1 paper and an oral presentation for Ancient and Medieval Magics; 1 written exam and a slew of homework assignments for Latin IV; a solo dance to design, choreograph and annotate for her Modern dance class; and a group project for Arts and Humanities. Not to mention all the research she hadn't done for Alaric yet.

Bonnie looked at all her assignments written out on Post-Its stuck to the wall of the study booth she had taken over in the basement of the library.

These were just the assignments that she absolutely had to turn in in order to graduate; this didn't even cover all the homework and tests she had bailed on altogether.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Damon: _**Tell me something naughty…**_

Bonnie gave her phone a weak smile and an eye roll before sending back: _No distracting me ;P_

To which he responded with where he'd like to see that little tongue.

How was she supposed to get anything done with Damon Salvatore on her mind all day? Even when he wasn't texting her every 10 minutes she was daydreaming about him, thinking about their weekend, counting down to their lunch date at noon.

She told him to go do something productive; that should buy her about an hour before he texts her back.

Bonnie pulled her books to her and got to work.

….

Bonnie was headed back to her booth in the library when she was cornered by Caroline.

"I have been looking for you all over the place!" The blonde vampire was dressed impeccably as always, but today she looked especially put together.

"Hey, Care. Wow, you look great, why are you so dressed up?"

"I've got an interview at a local news affiliate later, I told you about it weeks ago. But that's not why I've been looking for you."

"That's right, that internship in Richmond! That's so awesome, Care, I'm so proud of you, you're gonna do great." Shit. Internships, job interviews, auditions. Caroline was all over it.

"Yeah, yeah, enough about me, when are you going to tell me about you and Damon?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes and stepped around her best friend, continuing on towards the library.

"Let's see. We went shopping for a bed, we got it to his house, and then spent 2 days breaking it in. That about covers it. You nervous for your interview?"

Caroline put a hand on Bonnie's arm to stop her, "Hey, why are you acting like it's no big deal that you Damon did the deed?"

"Care come on, by now everyone's done the deed with Damon, just let it go," Bonnie sighed.

"Bon what's up, talk to me," Caroline searched her friends eyes for any sign that she was upset with Damon. She'd kill him if he had hurt her again.

"Look, nothing's wrong with me and Damon! We're good! The sex is good. So good in fact, that in 5 minutes we're gonna have a nooner in a study cubby in the bottom of the library before I have to go meet my stupid humanities group for our stupid group project." Bonnie continued walking expecting her friend to keep pace with her.

"Well, okay then, let me know when you have time to talk to your stupid roommate about your stupid boyfriend. Guess I'll see you later," Caroline stopped in her tracks, obviously annoyed.

Bonnie immediately dropped her attitude and apologized, "Care, no, it's not like that. I'm sorry, I'm just distracted, I've got a million things on my plate right now."

"Well, so do I Bonnie, but at least I can manage to still act like we're friends."

"Of course we're friends, what is that supposed to mean?"

"You've been ignoring my calls all weekend. Everytime I try to talk to you you blow me off."

"Not because I don't wanna talk to you. Damon practically threw my phone out the window and I've been playing catch up all morning!" Bonnie hated fighting with Caroline, especially when she just got to a good place with Damon.

"I get it, you've got a new boyfriend now, I just never see you anymore. I miss you. Graduation's like a month away and who knows where we'll be after that," Caroline pouted.

"Care, I miss you, too," Bonnie said, unfortunately her phone rang right at that moment. It was Damon. Bonnie hesitated to answer it while Caroline was already mad at her.

"Just answer your phone, I'll catch up with you later," she shrugged, and started to walk away.

"We are going to hang out this weekend, just you and me. A girls night, okay?" Bonnie promised.

"Girls night? Friday?" That seemed to lift her spirits.

"Yes, Friday night, you have me all to yourself," Bonnie figured she could spend a couple hours doting on her best friend in the world.

"Ok, yay! I'll see you later," Caroline bounced away, satisfied.

Bonnie answered her phone right before it stopped ringing. "Hey, I know, I'm running late. I'll meet you in the library in two minutes."

"Okay, hope you're hungry. And not just for food."

Bonnie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh you know I'm hungry, I've been thinking about lunch all day. I'll see you in a few minutes, okay. 'Kay bye." She hung up quickly.

She stood there a moment and closed her eyes waiting for her hectic mind and heart to slow down. When they didn't, she took a deep breath and marched on towards the library.

….

Damon sat waiting for Bonnie with his feet kicked up on the desk inside of the 5' x 5' study closet. It was depressing as hell, he didn't know how anyone was supposed to do any studying in here.

The walls were bare and covered in the pushpin marks and writing imprints from decades of students that had passed through. There was a TV on the wall, but it didn't connect to cable or anything, he'd already tried.

The room was hardly big enough for him to stand in let alone cram two people inside of. _And Bonnie thought we could do it in here? She must really want it,_ he smirked to himself, knowing how much he wanted it too.

Soon enough, Bonnie swung open the door of the study cubby and smiled brightly at him and Damon sighed in relief. He was beginning to think he had been stood up.

"You found the room okay?" she asked breathlessly, as she hung her bag on the back of the chair Damon was in, and offered him a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah, the one in the basement in the corner. Smells like lavender and teen spirit," he joked and pulled his feet off the desk.

"I don't even wanna know what that means," she hastily straddled his lap, "Okay, let's do this."

Damon didn't get another word out before she put her tongue in his mouth.

"Well, hello to you, too," Damon said when she came up for air.

"Hi," she grinned at him before pulling his black sweater over his head. Damon chuckled at her.

"Someone's in a hurry," Damon started kissing her neck but was interrupted when she pulled her top off.

"Not in a hurry, I just- I just really missed you, that's all." She kissed his neck,

"Hey I missed you, too. I spent all morning trying to figure out what you wanted for lunch without having to ask you because that felt a little like cheating, and you know I like a challenge," Bonnie put her hand between them and unbuttoned his jeans, pushed his zipper down, and wrapped her hand around- "O-kay, no small talk, then! Got it."

He stood up and set Bonnie on the desk, careful not to smash her lunch. Bonnie reached up her skirt and pulled down her panties and kicked them off.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she pulled her skirt up to her hips and spread her legs for him.

Damon said nothing else as he dropped to his knees and dove tongue first into her pussy.

Twenty minutes later, she said thanks for lunch and the quickie and then put him out of the room saying she'd catch up with him for dinner.

A lesser man would feel used right about now. As it were, Damon was just really proud of his girlfriend for her dedication to time and efficiency.

He smirked and trudged off to find a way to kill a few more hours.

…..

"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this," Bonnie reminded herself over and over.

She had managed to make it to all of her appointments today, granted she was late three times out of five, but she'd made it.

Now she was in Ric's office trying her damndest to focus on the essays she was reading and not all the work of her own she needed to get to.

Ric was long gone, as were all the students that drifted through to talk during his office hours. Bonnie stared blankly at the messy piles of papers on the desk that not so long ago had been meticulously sorted and stacked. She sighed heavily and put her head on the nearest stack.

 _What would Ric do?_ she thought to herself. That was easy. First he would find-

Bonnie opened the bottom right drawer of the desk and pulled out a bottle.

Bourbon.

She looked around quickly for a cup and when she found nothing without questionable leftovers in it, she put the bottle to her lips for a quick sip. And then another. And one more good measure.

Right. Now. _What would Ric do next?_ Duh, he'd find someone to delegate the task to, that's why you're here.

Right.

Bonnie sat back in the big leather office chair and thought of the most organized person she knew.

 _What would Caroline Forbes do?_ That was also a no brainer. Caroline wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. But if she were, she'd have schedules, and flashcards, and she wouldn't eat or sleep until she finished all her projects in a night. Maybe two. _You can do that when you don't need sleep or food to function on a daily basis. Great, now I'm jealous she's a vampire._

Bonnie shook her head and took another pull from the bottle.

 _I'm not a vampire, I'm a witch. What would a witch do? What would Hermione Granger do?_ Well, Hermione used a Time Turner to get to all her classes and be in two places at once. Too bad she couldn't do that in real life.

Bonnie bolted upright and slammed the bottle on the desk.

She _could_ do that in real life. She just did that like a week ago.

Bonnie needed help. She needed someone she could delegate tasks to. She needed someone to work when she couldn't. She needed someone who thought like her… looked like her… was her.

She knew exactly what to do.

 _Thank you, Hermione!  
_

 **A/N: I think we all know what happens next- Judgey's back!**


	28. Just Like Music

Just Like Music

 _Dear Diary,_

 _W_ _e have been stuck in this loop of '94 Mystic Falls for one week. I've started journaling because let's face it: I have ranting to do and if I do it out loud anywhere in the Salvatore house, Damon hears it and brings it up at our already painful breakfasts. Like, "Someone was cranky this morning" or "You're in a mood today crankypants". You're damn right I'm in a mood! I'm involuntarily living with Damon Salvatore. The one person that makes me cranky, on sight._

 _I mean, once upon a time I was a happy person, I had a great life, with great friends. I was awesome, I had fun, I had no worries, well, except for Grams. I couldn't get anything over on her, the woman saw it all!_

 _But now? Now, I'm pretty sure I died again and this time I can't even listen to Beyonce in the morning while I'm getting ready! Destiny's Child are still actual children in this time! The 2000s haven't happened yet! The 90s suck_ , _it's all whiny rock anthems or grunge rock anthems or worse: punk rock anthems._

...

"Oh my god, the music was bumpin' in the 90s!"

"Bumpin? Since when do you use era appropriate slang Bonnie?"

"When in Rome," she rolled her eyes. "

"Right. Well, hey, at least we aren't stuck in the 70s, disco was an era that deserved to die swiftly."

"Nah, you were just listening to the wrong music, as usual."

Damon winced, "I beg to differ, young one, there is nothing _wrong_ with rock and roll, it's as American as you can get!"

"Weren't the Beatles from England or something?"

"So she does know her music history."

"And the Rolling Stones, too?"

"Careful, BonBon, you're close to actually impressing me."

"I'm not dumb, Damon. I just happen to have better taste in music than you do," Bonnie flashed a wide, fake, smile and moved to the next aisle over. "Look! Michael, Janet. Jodeci, Mariah- Mary J. Blige! This is what I'm talkin' about!"

They were CD shopping today. Bonnie had decided the boarding house had a very serious lack of R'nB in it's stockpiles of music. They had the basics: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston. But Damon, who had proclaimed himself the Master DJ, only played Rock. Metal, grunge, classic, even soft rock. Bonnie understood now why the guy was always so bent out of shape, he had no Soul. No Groove. No Isley Brothers or Temptations; no R. Kelly and New Edition. Ugh, how does he live like this, she thought as she placed every album in Marvin Gaye's discography in her cart.

"Your music tastes start with Rihanna and end with Drake, what do you know about Marvin Gaye?"

"Oh please, what do _you_ know about Marvin Gaye? Marvin was a man ahead of his time, his music is incredible, so don't-" she pulled a greatest hits album from his hands and returned it to her cart "-hate on Marvin."

"No hate. I'll take Marvin over, what is this, N.W.A? _You_ like N.W.A?"

"Um, yes." She snatched the album from him and dropped it on top of the rest. "I mean, I might, I don't really know yet."

"You don't know?"

"It's not like Grams and dad let me listen to stuff like that when I was growing up. They took the Parental Advisory Warning very seriously."

"With good reason, this crap is offensive. You don't wanna listen this stuff."

"It's not crap and how would you know what I wanna listen to? You know nothing about me!"

"What?! We've been alone in this hell dimension for a week and I'm not entirely unobservant."

"And what have you observed, Damon, that I eat, sleep, and breathe with zero magic whatsoever? Thanks."

"Ha, no... Okay, yes. But, I have also observed that you can't sleep without music playing and you seem to prefer 60s and Motown over everything else-"

"Because everything else at the house is garbage."

"Snob."

"It's called taste. Just because _you_ live like a wannabe rock god doesn't mean the rest of do."

"Yeah, but it's fun," Damon pouted.

"Motown is fun."

"I can't believe you said that with a straight face."

"You're a nightmare, and stop mixing your weird punk CDs with my music, go get your own basket!"

"Pink Floyd isn't weird or punk, Bonnie. And I'm trying to educate you, you dear sweet child."

"Hm, you can dish it but you can't take it, huh?"

"Little girl, you have no idea what I can take," he smirked.

"Ew, what did I tell you about flirting with me?" Bonnie gagged. "And referring to me as _little_ anything."

"Fine, fine. I'll show you mine, if you show me yours?"

"Damon…"

"I'm talking strictly music, Bonster, get your mind out of the gutter."

"Okay. If you stop giving me nicknames?"

"Ain't gonna happen, Bonnie-Cakes, but I will agree to listen to your musical tutelage with only minimal complaint." He held his hand out to shake on it. She eyed it thinking she probably wouldn't get a better offer before placing her hand in his.

"Deal."

After packing up what seemed like one of every record in the place (Damon had insisted on some Vinyl and cassette tapes as well since he was serious about educating Bonnie) they made their way back to the house.

"Ugh! I cant believe this is how they used to do this! It'd be so much simpler if we could just Google the song. I miss Google," she whined for the thousandth time.

"You're so spoiled." Damon chuckled at her while shuffling through Cds for the right song to play next. "When I was growing up if we wanted to share a new song we liked, we had to learn how to play it first. So I'll take CDs over sheet music any day, thanks."

"Aw is grandpa ready for a nap now?" They were sitting in the floor and drinking next to the massive sound system they stole, or rather acquired, from Circuit City earlier that day. Bonnie had surprised Damon by easily putting it together in the living room of the boarding house. Turns out she's good with technology. Go figure.

"Funny girl. Listen to this, I think you'll like this one," he stuck a CD in the player, skipped to the right song, and started it.

"I don't believe you anymore, I think you actually like playing music that makes me wanna claw my own ears off and eat 'em." Bonnie scrunched her face in displeasure and gulped from her wineglass.

"I just can't believe you've never heard this before!" Damon closed his eyes and banged his head to the music.

"I'm sorry, what makes you think I've heard of-" she reached and scooped the case out of his hand, " _Fugazi_? What the hell is a Fugazi? No, that's not music!"

She grabbed the next CD in her playlist and switched his music out with hers before his song even finished.

"No fair, you didn't even give it a chance!" Damon complained.

"I am not drunk enough or angry enough to listen to that. Here, I know you remember this, though." Bonnie hit play and started laughing before the beat even dropped.

"Why are you laughing like that? I can't even hear the song over you!" Damon cranked the volume up.

"Sorry, I just pictured you trying to dance to this!" Bonnie doubled over in a fit of giggles as _Candy_ by Cameo filled the room.

"This? This is the song that somehow beats Fugazi in your mind?" he rolled his eyes. "And yes, I remember the song, the 80s weren't _that_ long ago."

Bonnie gathered herself and climbed to her feet, attempting to pull Damon with her. "Come on, dance with me!"

"Oh god. You sure you're not drunk enough for my music?" he looked up at the tipsy witch and thought for once, _she's not so bad to hang with; once she starts drinking, of course._

"Come on! I'm gonna teach you the electric slide!" She was going to dance with him or without him, so Damon figured why not.

"You're ridiculous, you know that right?" Damon found it hilarious that she thought she was teaching him something new, but he still let her.

She took his hand and dragged him through the steps, and then they were dancing. Like it was the most natural thing in the world for the two of them to be jamming in the middle of the night to a funky old-school bop!

Bonnie was absolutely shocked when Damon put his own little spin and dip into the moves, she was screaming laughing, hyping him up and everything.

Then he spun her around, into his chest. He dropped his hands to her hips and they danced together to the beat. Bonnie threw him a look over her shoulder, like where the hell did these moves come from?!

Bonnie went from tipsy to wild once she started dancing. She lost herself in the thump of the bass and let the rhythm move her. She was showing off her moves, daring Damon to keep up, and to her immense pleasure he did.

One song turned into two and then three.

The two of them drank and danced the night away to a mix of the greatest hits of the 80s. Damon threatened to murder her if she ever told anybody about him doing the MC Hammer dance! She told him not to worry, nobody would believe her even if she did.

And she couldn't believe she was having fun with Damon. Elena never told her he could dance like that. She had seen glimpses of it over the years, but besides a brief moment at one of the decade dances, she had never experienced it for herself. She was almost glad for the chance to see him like this- relaxed, no worries or cares. No pressure whatsoever to be anything but himself. She grudgingly thought it looked good on him.

The same thing was on Damon's mind as he watched Bonnie shake her ass all over the place. Once she cuts loose and actually smiles, drops that judgy little crease in her forehead, and godforbid laughs! She turned into someone he can actually stand to be around. Even liked being around.

So, just for the night, he quit screwing with her and picked out songs he knew she could dance to and have fun with. He even showed her songs she didn't know and she actually liked them. Damon had forgotten how much he remembered of the 80s and he told her stories of the clubs and shows he had been to and the celebrities he had met.

And just for a night they danced and talked and listened to music and had fun. They both knew it probably wouldn't last past morning, that the spell would wear off, that they'd go back to barely tolerating each other, fighting and arguing every chance they got. But tonight was a brief ceasefire, a much needed pause from the reality of their dire situation.

For the first time, maybe ever, they actually enjoyed each others company.

...

 _Well, okay._ _T_ _he 90s may have had a few things going for it. But not a lot. By the way, Damon's dancing is now burned to my memory, I can't unsee it! And of course he's a great dancer, he can do freaking everything, it's so annoying. And he actually likes good music, he just has this need to seem tough so he only plays rock when others are around. That or I'm just rubbing off on him!_

 _It makes me miss my iPod so damn much! And Pandora radio. I used to have so much music right at my fingertips, even just turning on a radio station. Yesterday, I had to figure out how to make mixtapes on a cassette recorder. Totally killed it, too. I am now a mixtape making machine!_

 _Guess I'll load my walkman into my fanny pack and go for a jog_!

 _My life is so weird._

 _Till next time,_

 _Bonnie B_

...

Damon closed the journal with a grin. He couldn't see or hear Bonnie but at the same time he could. He could perfectly imagine her writing this. Sitting on her bed digging through all the CDs they had scavenged from the record shop.

It had taken him a while to figure out it wasn't that she couldn't sleep without some kind noise playing, no; she was using music to cover the sound of her crying herself to sleep. She was hiding it from him.

He had had all kinds of theories on what she could be up to when she locked herself in her room with the music blaring, most of which involved her either naked or naked. He never mentioned that he had heard her and she just kept playing her music.

He wondered if she still bothered now that she was alone over there. He hoped she still danced all night long like no one was watching.

She's been over there by herself for two monthHe prays she's still dancing.

The next day he buys a new iPod for her, and spends countless hours and hundreds of dollars downloading all the music they ever played over there and danced to, and all the songs he ever heard her mention she missed from the 21st century. Any music he thinks she would like. Any song that just reminds him of her.

He convinces himself he does it just for her, so she'll have something when he finally gets her out; but listening to her music just makes him feel better, lighter, makes him feel closer to Bonnie.

Makes him smile whenever he loses sight of what he's fighting for. Keeps him fighting for her.


	29. Operation Granger

**a/n: heres the update... shoutout to mikjenl08 for dropping a comment on the new story. i really appreciate it love, this ones for you!**

Operation Granger

If you had asked him back when he first returned to Mystic Falls where he would be in six years, he never could have foretold being in an honest to god relationship with the pain in his ass Bennett Witch.

He might have claimed he could bang her, but even that would've been a stretch back then.

And now? Now he found himself 'in love' again, for the third time in his entire life. He was learning to open himself up again in ways he hadn't before, not even with Elena. Especially with Elena.

With Elena he felt he was constantly defending himself to other people; her friends and his. He lived in the constant shadow of the epic romance of Stefan and Elena, always worried she would come to her senses and go back to his little brother. All of his happiest memories with her were tainted with judgements; Stefans, Elena's, his own.

Of course, those judgements never stopped him from doing what he wanted and being with her for as long as she would have him, but he did acknowledge them.

But now, everyone in his life was happy for them.

Stefan thought they were oddly good together.

Caroline couldn't wait to go double dating.

Alaric almost didn't want to be around them; he said they were so cute it made him nauseous.

Enzo was still Enzo, being dodgy and secretive but Damon figured he was probably just jealous.

And Damon was happy. It was freaking him out a little, just how pleased he was. He was trying hard not to wait for the other shoe to drop and disaster to arise because that's how his life went; brief shining moments of happy followed by everything turning to shit. In the very back of his usually dark and twisty mind, he suspected something was coming, but for now he was content to roll with it.

For now, he was busy being the Best Boyfriend Ever to the Busiest Witch Ever.

Bonnie told him she was having a tough week, catching up with her schoolwork and such and Damon understood. As much as he wanted to monopolize her time, he knew she needed to finish school. He wanted to help in any way he could, and if that meant being there to help her relieve stress every chance he got then so be it.

A few nights after the Demon Debacle, Bonnie came over to his place after finishing up late at the library or Ric's office or wherever it was she did her thing. Damon had already turned in for the night when she called to tell him she was on the way. He stayed on the phone until she pulled into the driveway, asking about her day, talking about nothing really.

And when she tiptoed into his room in the dark he had to laugh.

"Why are you sneaking into my room at…gasp, one o'clock in the morning? Who are you, Dracula?" He teased, throwing her own words back at her.

"Very funny. I'm not sneaking in, you were awake on the phone just two minutes ago." Bonnie shimmied out of her clothes and underneath the sheets.

"Then why are you whispering?" He whispered back, mocking her as he opened his arms and she curled herself into his side.

"Because I don't wanna wake anybody else up. Caroline wasn't at the room when I stopped by to grab some clothes, so I figured she's here with your brother."

Damon tilted her head back to kiss her lips and even in the dim moonlight shining in the window he could see she looked tired.

"And I thought about climbing in your window, but I wanted to save my energy for other things," she kissed his neck and moved to cover his body with her own.

"Oh, and what other things did you have in mind, pray tell?" Damon rubbed her back and shoulders as she continued kissing a trail down his neck.

"Some of this…. some of that." She hummed when his hands started massaging her in earnest, "Damn, that feels good."

He worked over the tight muscles of her upper arms and rubbed circles down her back. "You like that, huh?"

"Mm hmm, don't stop," she whispered.

Damon's hands worked further south to her hips, "How bout here?"

"Mm hhmmm."

He massaged her thighs down to her knees, "Here?"

He moved back up her ass. "I know you like it here," he grinned. He ran his hands all over her back when she didn't respond. "Bon? Bon-nie?" Damon wiggled around trying to shake her awake, but she was already gone. She'd fallen asleep right on top of his chest in the middle of 'this and that'.

"Well, that was certainly worth waiting up for," Damon griped.

As much as he needed to take a cold shower he didn't want to wake her so he pulled the sheet up over her bare shoulders and tried to sleep.

He'd have to settle for make up sex in the morning.

….

Bonnie waited a whole week before moving forward with the plan _(Code Name: Operation Granger)_. She really did want to find another way of getting her life together, but over the next couple days she realized how deep in trouble she really was.

She was so grateful to have friends that cared about her enough to compel her back into school each time her life went off the rails, but they weren't doing her any favors in the long run; because now she had so much catching up do.

Bonnie wanted to earn her degree the right way, she just need a little extra help with her finals, and she tells herself it's not like she was cheating or anything by getting assistance from… herself. It's not like she was taking performance enhancing drugs to gain an edge while a lot of her classmates were into that.

Falling asleep on Damon was the deciding factor for her. She couldn't believe she had dozed off in the middle of sex. Not even in the middle, apparently they hadn't even gotten that far. She was mortified. Damon was really good about it, of course he teased her and wouldn't let her forget she owed him one, but he didn't seem to take it personally. Bonnie thought he would make a bigger deal about it, but Damon was surprising her often these days. He just wasn't the guy she had met all those years ago who had threatened her life and done horrible things with no remorse. He was thoughtful towards her now, sweet and charming. No way was she messing up a good thing by alienating him just for schoolwork.

She reasoned away all her doubts and decided she could handle this. This is what witches do, they use their magic to solve their problems and to help people, and when she earned her degree she could do just that, help people.

…

Bonnie had a plan. She thought of everything: she altered the wording of the spell to only bring out her helpful, Super Nerdy, Judgy side and she would reflect Bonnies true form. So nobody would tell them apart.

She duplicated her cell phone so she could stay in contact with the Other Bonnie. She listed out all the tasks she needed help with and figured 24 hours should be enough time to sort everything out, finish all her assignments, and get her back on track.

She was ready.

She sat in front of the full length mirror in her bathroom and began reciting the spell. The lights flickered, the air changed, the candles blew out, but when Bonnie came to, she was alone in the room.

The spell hadn't worked. Her Judgey inner self didn't appear in a puff of smoke like she had anticipated.

Bonnie reread the incantation, checked the herbs spread out on floor, and recast the spell.

Again it didn't work.

She tried one more time to recast the spell and after the third time she was left with a massive headache and a nosebleed, but no duplicate of herself.

Bonnie couldn't understand what was going on with her magic. She felt fine, she could light candles with a flick of the wrist. Her magic was definitely intact. She just couldn't perform this particular spell.

Bonnie sighed in frustration. I'll just try again later, she thought as she cleared away the remnants of the unsuccessful spell.

She cleaned herself up, got rid of any trace of the ritual, grabbed her bag and headed for the library, dreading the workload ahead of her.

As she approached her study room she felt someone else inside. Another supernatural being.

She sighed. It must be Damon here to surprise her since she had to blow him off again last night. As much as she loved seeing him she didn't have time for this. Her failed spell had set her way back.

She paste a smile on her face and opened the door.

Her face dropped immediately.

Inside sat not one but two doubles of herself.

"What! A-are you guys real?" she asked in awe and relief.

"Real enough," one of them answered.

"We are perfectly real and you are late," Bonnies other double said.

"Wait, why are there two of you? There's only supposed to be one of you, the Superego One," Bonnie looked back and forth between the two newcomers in confusion, trying to figure out what went wrong.

"That would be her. And don't think I didn't notice this whole little costume change either; I don't appreciate you cramping my style." Bonnie's extra double complained from her seat by the window where she ran a finger over the place where an eyebrow piercing used to be.

 _Wait, window?_ Bonnie finally looked around the room and noticed it was four times as big as it usually was and well lit from the windows on three sides letting in the bright mid-morning sunlight shining across the campus.

"What are you doing here and what the hell happened to this room? You spelled it?" Bonnie's eyes bugged a little.

"First off, you summoned me, so don't give me that attitude. And second, she's the one who spelled it, not me," the extra double cocked her thumb at the first Bonnie duplicate.

"Studies show providing an environment conducive to studying encourages the creative process and minimizes stress. And we, my dear, are in desperate need of anything to lower your stress levels. That's why you called upon us, correct?" The Busy Bonnie didn't even bother to look up from the laptop she was tapping away on. Bonnie didn't even know whose laptop it was; her head was spinning from the overload of elements arising because of a spell she thought she had screwed up.

"Okay, time out." Bonnie shook her head, trying to gather her whirlwind of thoughts together. "First of all, I thought the spell didn't work, why didn't you guys appear in the room? And seriously, why is she here, I didn't summon my evil twin. In fact, I specifically told you not to come!"

"Uh hunh, that's what you get for being ugly; why you tryna leave me out? What did I ever do to you?"

Bonnie looked at her like she was crazy. "Is she serious?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Judgey muttered.

"Okay, how bout you attacked my friends, stole my body, and hooked up with a random dude!" Bonnie tried not to shout but she close to losing it.

The FunBon rolled her eyes at all of that. "Nobody's holding on to that except for you."

"I'm holding on that, too," Judgey chimed in.

"Ugh, of course you are. Look, sue me or get over it. I'm here now. Put me in coach, I wanna play!" Fun stood to her feet with wide grin on her face.

Bonnie could stand here arguing with… herself, or she could get to work. "Okay, fine whatever, the more the merrier, just don't go sleeping with anyone, we have a boyfriend now."

"Ooh, can I sleep with him?" FunBon's eyes lit up.

"No! Don't talk to anyone, no one can know you're here," Bonnie pulled her books out of her bag.

"So what am I supposed to do here, sit twiddling my freaking thumbs? You know I get bored easily!" she whined.

"Okay, you know what, you are not conducive to my learning environment," Judgey Bonnie finally looked up in irritation. "Why don't you have her go to the studio and work on your Modern Dance piece?" Judgey suggested. "It's a creative outlet and the likelihood of her ruining that is very slim."

"That is a great idea… me," Bonnie didn't know what to call her selves to their faces. "Do you think you can handle choreographing it and annotating the steps?"

"Yes, I can handle that," FunBon rolled her eyes. "Is it okay if go back to the room to change or don't you think I can handle that too?"

"Just go. Try not to talk to anybody," Bonnie begged.

"Sir, yes, sir." And with a salute, FunBon left the building.

"I'm gonna regret that later, aren't I?" Bonnie asked of her studying counterpart.

"That is very likely."

Bonnie sat down and started working on her Medieval Magics paper.

…

Damon was planning the best first date ever. Dinner at an expensive restaurant and…. well, that was really as far as he had gotten. He couldn't decide if they should go dancing or go see a show. He was in the middle of debating with himself when his phone rang.

He looked down and saw that it was the Sheriff's office. Since Liz died a couple years ago he didn't get many calls from her office anymore.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Yes, is this Damon Salvatore?"

"It is."

"Well, sir, you asked to be notified immediately if Bonnie Bennett's name ever came up in an investigation."

"I did, yes." Damon had compelled the new desk clerk to be his eyes and ears on the whole Scooby Gang right after Liz died. It had been a while since anything had come up. "What's going on?"

"She's here. She needs someone to come get her."

"She's at the Sheriff station?" Damon was alarmed now. "Is she okay? Is she hurt?" he spat out questions as he rushed down the stairs.

"She's perfectly fine. She was a bit upset when they first brought her in, but they've calmed her down."

"Upset? What, is she under arrest or something?" Damon couldn't understand what was going on, he didn't know if this was a funny situation or a dire one. If Bonnie had been picked up for public indecency or murder.

"Of course not! She's here and she's safe. She's just been asking for her grandmother. Or her father."

"She's asking for who now?" Damon stopped altogether.

"Her grandmother. Our records show Sheila Bennett died several years ago, but that keeps upsetting her."

"Ok, ok, I'm on my way, just don't let her leave!"

Damon ran into Stefan on his way out. "Hey, where you running off to?"

"The Sheriff's station. Apparently they picked up Bonnie and she was freaking out about her Grams or something, I don't know. My informer at the station sounded just as confused as I was."

"Something up with her?" Stefan asked, following Damon from the house.

"She sounded fine when I talked to her-" Damon checked his phone, "- an hour and a half ago. She said she had to work all day today and declined my invitation for a study break this afternoon."

"When's the last time you actually saw her?" Stefan climbed into the passenger seat of Damon's car, not bothering to ask if Damon wanted him to tag along.

"When she left here yesterday morning. She stayed on campus last night to get something or another done. I don't know, she's been busy with school lately."

"Yeah, Caroline's been interviewing for internships all over the place, freaking out about 'The Impending Future'."

"Interviews? Like job interviews? She's looking for a job?" Damon was shocked, he hadn't thought about what would happen after the girls graduated, he was just ready for them to be done with school.

"No, no, she's looking for a career path. Apparently there's a difference." Stefan shrugged.

"Wow. Well let's deal with my girls problems today and yours tomorrow, okay?" Damon pulled to a stop outside the station and climbed from the car.

When they walked in he saw the clerk he compelled sitting at the front desk.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Bonnie Bennett," he told the lady.

"She's right back here," the woman walked him and Stefan back to a office.

"She's not in cuffs is she? And is there a mugshot I can get a copy of?" Damon grinned.

"No, no she was such a good girl." The clerk opened the door to the office.

Damon looked inside. "So where is she?"

"Daymo!" a small voice called out right before someone tackled him around the knees. "You're here!"

Damon looked bewildered from Stefan to the clerk and back to the small girl hugging him for dear life.

"Bonnie?"

 **A/N: Well she did it! She got some help, its just not exactly the help she asked for and it came with one little consequence nobody saw coming!**


End file.
